Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University women's lacrosse team will begin it's quest for the program's tenth Division II title this March, as the 2022 schedule was revealed on Friday.
The squad was pitted at no. 17 in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Division II Women's Preseason Top 20 poll this week, ahead of the new year, resulting in six top-20 opponents on the docket.
Adelphi, who normally travels to Florida for some nationally-ranked preseason action, won't have to travel far as they take on no. 14 Mercy College (Mar. 9) after opening the season at Georgian Court in February. They will then trip to West Chester University of Pennsylvania for their fourth all-time meeting - last time out, the Panthers picked up an 11-5 victory in the 2019 title run during the semifinal round - before opening up at home against no. 2 University of Indianapolis on March 16.
The month of March closes out with four Northeast-10 conference games in 11 days, book-ended with home contests against Southern New Hampshire and Pace University.
In April,
Pat McCabe's squad will have a rematch of the 2021 NE10 Championship back in Waltham, Mass. when they take on Bentley on April 19. The Falcons, who appeared at no. 16 in the preseason poll, won their first NE10 title en route to an NCAA tournament berth, making an appearance in the East Region final where they fell to no. 7 Roberts Wesleyan.
The rematch comes three days after the Panthers host Le Moyne College at Motamed Field on April 16 in regular season action, with game time set for noon.
Adelphi closes out their 17-game slate with a two game homestand, when they host Franklin Pierce (Apr. 27) and American International College (Apr. 30).
Quarterfinal action for the NE10 championship will commence on Wednesday, May 4 with the finals culminating on Sun. May 8. NCAA tournament play begins the following week, with first round action taking place on Friday, May 13.
Also worth noting that last season, due to COVID-19 factors, the NCAA reduced the Division II championship tournament from 16 teams to 12. This year, the postseason field has been restored to 16, with four teams to be chosen from each of the four regions.
