Saint Leo, Fla. - For the third time over the past two seasons, the Adelphi University men's lacrosse team broke the 20-goal threshold Saturday afternoon, resulting in a 22-10 victory over no. 14 Saint Leo.
Getting off to a hot start, Adelphi (2-0) tallied the first three goals in the contest to quiet the home crowd early, which included two points from
Ian Kirby who scored and added an assist. Last week's conference player of the week, he finished the contest with three points. The Lions (2-2) responded to cut their deficit to two at the 10 minute mark, but
Michael Osmundsen sparked a 5-2 spurt which saw the visitors leading 8-3 after one quarter of action.
Saint Leo's defense picked up in the second frame however, as the Lions held Adelphi scoreless over the ensuing 15 minutes. Each team committed five turnovers in that time and both goalies accounted for three saves, as the Panthers still managed to out shoot the hosts 11-7.
Philip Buque scored for the Lions in a man-up possession coming out of the half, but Andrejack and
Angelo Caiazzo responded with less than 10 seconds between their goals to keep it a five-goal contest. At the end of the third, the Brown and Gold had mirrored their first half performance, outscoring the home team 8-3, which all but put the game out of reach.
The offensive pressure from the team of the north didn't end as they battled into the final period as the Panthers tacked on six more goals before the final buzzer sounded. In the final strike of the game,
Jack Roberts and
Kyle Sliwak connected, as just the fourth goal in the game that produced a helper.
In the end, Adelphi saw 14 different pplayers contribute points in the win.
Nicolas Racalbuto and Osmundsen each earned a hat-trick to lead the Panther offense. The battle in the 'X' was won by
Mark Andrejack, who went 31-for-35 to go alongside a career-high ground ball mark of 19. Goalkeeper,
Brendan McDougal tallied his second win recording five saves in 53 minutes and was relieved by
Kevin Rice protected the net in the last seven minutes of action, finishing with four saves and zero goals allowed.
The Panthers scored 20 or more goals in two contests last season, featuring American International and St. Thomas Aquinas College in early season matchups.
The men's lacrosse program will remain in Florida for one more game against nationally-ranked University of Tampa on Wednesday, February 27. In the week two USILA poll, the Spartans were ranked no. 12 and the Panthers appeared in the no. 2 spot.
About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally and nationally competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.
Winners of 16 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Panther athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi athletic department is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.
Stay connected with Adelphi Athletics by following the Panthers at
aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and wear your Panther pride by shopping official Adelphi Panthers gear at
our licensed team store.
