Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University men's lacrosse program saw their title run come to an end Saturday afternoon, as Merrimack College took a 14-12 final decision in the NCAA Quarterfinal matchup at Motamed Field.
The teams previously met in the regular season, with the Panthers (16-3) taking a convincing 17-8 victory, which resulted in the no. 1 seed for the conference tournament. However, the [road] Warriors sought vengeance, after ousting Mercyhurst earlier in the week in the opening round of the NCAA tournament.
Adelphi managed to jump out to a nice 4-1 lead after the first five minutes of action.
Nicolas Racalbuto, who set a new single-season record in goals with his five despite the loss, was responsible for the first two tallies of the contest. Merrimack got on the board and cut their deficit to one, but
James Hall and
Michael Paccione both found the back of the net to make it 4-1 in favor of the home team.
The Warriors stormed back with three unanswered goals to make it four-all after the opening quarter, and rolled their momentum through to the second, holding the hosts scoreless for a span of 17 minutes. In that time they added two more goals to take a slight advantage, but it was Racalbuto's hat trick strike that broke the silence. Seconds later
Mark Andrejack earned a faceoff win and took it all the way to the house, scoring for the first time to make it even once more.
The teams traded goals to close out the half, resulting in a tie game headed into the break.
Merrimack outscored their opponents by one in each of the remaining quarters, which was all they needed to earn a spot back in the NCAA semifinal round. The defending National Champions will take on Le Moyne College next weekend to see who earns a spot in the championship game, held the following Sunday.
The game experienced two more ties, but the Warriors scored three over the third and fourth frames to keep the second-seeded Panthers at bay. Netminder
Brendan McDougal picked up nearly half of his saves for the game (12) in the third frame alone, accounting for five huge stops. Hall recorded a hat trick in the loss, with two of his goals coming late in the fourth quarter, trying to keep the Panthers' playoff run alive. The final goal from Adelphi came from senior
Michael Osmundsen, but with less than two minutes remaining the home team could not overcome the two-goal advantage that Merrimack had taken.
The program ends the 2019 campaign with a 16-3 overall record, with a Northeast-10 Regular Season crown.
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.
