Garden City, N.Y. - The No. 6 Adelphi University men's lacrosse team held No. 2 Merrimack College to its lowest scoring output this season to capture a 12-9 Northeast 10 Conference victory Saturday afternoon in a battle of USILA Division II Top 10 teams. 

The Panthers (7-1, 5-0 NE10) were led by Nicolas Racalbuto and Shane deBoer, who both notched hat tricks in the win. Racalbuto also added three ground balls and one assist to finish with a team-high four points. Gordon Purdie, Jr. also accounted for three points behind three helpers, as five different Adelphi players caused big turnovers on defense. In goal for the Brown and Gold, Brendan McDougal allowed nine goals but put up 10 big stops in net throughout 60 minutes of action. 

The home team wasted no time getting on the board in the NE10/USILA Top 10 contest, scoring less than a minute into the first quarter. The Panthers added another eight minutes later, but didn't maintain their shutout for long as Merrimack's Seamus Ford found a way past McDougal. Both parties traded goals, however the hosts got the last word in, as Michael Osmundsen collected his 13th of the season with under 10 seconds remaining. 

N. Racalbuto and Purdie connected to open the second and extend their lead to three but the Warriors answered with back-to-back goals to come within one at at the 10:10 mark. Kirby, Osmundsen and John Arcidiacono all net goals in the following minutes to give the No. 6 Panthers a four-goal cushion heading into halftime.

Through the first 30 minutes of play, the teams put up nearly even numbers but the visitors fell short in goals and saves. 

Strong defense from the Panthers kept the Warriors to a lone goal in the third quarter, as the hosts managed to put up three, even with a change in net for the visitors. Unsatisfied and down by six goals, Merrimack opened up the final frame with three unanswered shots to cut the deficit in half.

Charlie Bertrand, Merrimack's leading scorer, net just his second of the game in that span -- a player that has scored at least a hat trick in all other contests. 

"Whenever you play a Northeast-10 competitor, it's always going to be an exciting game, especially when both teams are ranked in the top 10," Head Coach Gordon Purdie said. "There were many things we did well today to earn the win -- one of those included Nick Reisig's defense on [Merrimack's] Bertrand."

Adelphi managed to hold on to a win as a late goal courtesy of the Racalbuto brothers (Nicolas to Chris) sealed the deal for the Panthers. 

The men's lacrosse team returns to action on the road on Wednesday, April 5 when they take on Saint Anselm College. This game was originally scheduled for March 15, but moved due to unplayable conditions. 

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past seven seasons, has collected 21 regular season conference titles, 25 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup three times (2013, 2014, and 2016), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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