North Andover, Mass. - Salvatore Tuttle completed Adelphi's (12-5) comeback from six goals down with just 10 seconds left, scoring the equalizer with just 10 ticks left in regulation to force overtime against #2 Merrimack College (14-1) this afternoon in the semifinals of the Northeast-10 Championship. However, the Panthers ran out of gas, falling in the third extra session, 14-13.

Tuttle, as he has done for most of the season, led the Panthers with five points on a game-high four goals and one assist. The freshmen duo of Michael Osmundsen and Gordon Purdie, Jr. each contributed three points, Osmundsen on three goals and Purdie, Jr. with three helpers. Anthony Gomes and Travis Wahl were the only other members of the Brown and Gold with more then one point, Gomes with one goal and one assist, while Wahl scored twice.

Bryan Moritt led the defensive effort with three caused turnovers, while Gomes and Joseph Catalanotti turned the Warriors over twice each. Joe Giardina led the Panthers with six ground balls and was 6-9 at the face-off circle in relief of John English who was 7-20 on the afternoon. John McGrath was solid in goal, making a career-high 20 stops in the loss.

Adelphi set the tone early, getting on the board first as Shane Deboer swept left to right and got his hands free, ripping a shot that beat Merrimack's Sam Ventresca, 2:10 into the game. The hosts answered, by the Panthers response came in the form of back-to-back goals from Tuttle, one of which was an incredible solo effort that ended with a one handed shot that beat Ventresca as Tuttle faced away from the goal, 3-1.

However, the Warriors were unbowed, scoring back-to-back goals of their own, the second from Michael O'Connell, tying the game at three with 5:33 to play. Just over a minute later Osmundsen's first of the game would put Adelphi on top, but O'Connell's second of the game tied the game for the third time, 4-4 with 1:58 left in the first. It appeared that the game would head into the second frame knotted at four, but a strong individual effort from Paul Bentz with 13 seconds left gave the Brown and Gold a one goal cushion after the first 15 minutes of play.

The offense was slowed in the second quarter, with the teams combining for just four goals. Unfortunately, the Panthers came out on the short end, putting a ripple in the back of the net just once, off the stick of Cory Stavis who got a feed from Purdie, Jr.. Adelphi entered the break trailing by one, 7-6.

The hosts struck first out of the intermission, but once again Adelphi had an answer, again courtesy of Osmundsen, who got a great outlet pass from McGrath, keeping the Panthers within one goal, 8-7 with 9:48 to play in the third. Then the Brown and Gold offense stalled and the Warriors found another gear, reeling off five straight goals, claiming a 13-7 lead with 4:54 to play in the third quarter.

Merrimack's 13th goal woke Adelphi up and the Panthers responded with a sense of urgency. Osmundsen's third and final goal of the game kicked things off and then the Brown and Gold got back-to-back goals from Wahl, who was set up by Purdie, Jr. on two man-up opportunities closing the gap to 13-10 with 7:12 left to play.

Adelphi kept the pressure on with three goals in the final five minutes, the final two came in the last 67 seconds of regulation, both off the stick of Tuttle, who's second individual effort came with just 10 seconds remaining and sent the game into extra time, 13-13.

Two overtimes passed with a combined 12 shots and seven total saves, making the third extra frame possible. Unfortunately, the Panthers luck ran out in the third extra session. Merrimack finally managed to slip one past McGrath with just 38 seconds left in the third overtime, handing Adelphi a 14-13 loss.

Adelphi, who is ranked fifth in the most recent NCAA Division II Regional poll, will now have to wait until 7:30 pm on Sunday to find out if they are selected to participate in the NCAA Division II Championship. You can watch the selection show live by clicking here. 

For his efforts during Adelphi's Northeast-10 Championship run, Joe Giardina was named to the All-Tournament Team. The complete team is listed below:
 

2016 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Lacrosse All Championship Team
Joe Giardina, Adelphi
Kyle DeAngelis, Le Moyne
Alex Krawec, Le Moyne
Nick Kline, Le Moyne
Max Allen, Merrimack
Sam Ventresca, Merrimack
Cameron Joyce, Southern New Hampshire  

Most Outstanding Player - Nick Kline, Le Moyne

Notes:
- With 12 wins, Adelphi has recorded 10 or more wins for the past seven seasons. The last time they failed to win at least 10 games was in 2009 (3-8).
- Tuttle's goal with 10 seconds left was the second time this season the he scored in the final 10 seconds of the game. He found the back of the net with nine seconds left in a 13-12 win over Pace on April 12. 
- John McGrath shattered his previous personal best of 14 saves with 20, but was 25 saves short of the Panthers single game record of 45, set by Gary Eucker in 1964.
 

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the Fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 18 regular season conference titles, 22 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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