MANSFIELD, Mass. – Adelphi, the defending Northeast-10 champion, was selected to finish first in the 2023 season, according to the 2023 NE10 Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll, released by the league on Tuesday morning.
Adelphi secured six of 11 first place votes for 95 total points. Head coach Gordon Purdie led the Panthers to a perfect 10-0 NE10 record (15-2 overall) for the program's first title since 2015 and a NCAA Quarterfinal appearance. The Panthers have appeared in three of the past five NE10 Championships and will open up the 2023 season on Feb. 17 against Palm Beach Atlantic.
Le Moyne, the 2022 NE10 Finalists, finished second with 92 points and four first place votes. The Dolphins also competed in the NCAA Semifinals after knocking off Adelphi in the Quarterfinal round just one week after the conference tournament. Saint Anselm claimed the remaining first place vote and earned a total of 84 points to land in third. Pace (73) and Bentley (65) followed in fourth and fifth to round out the top five teams.
Southern New Hampshire (50) took sixth, ahead of Saint Rose (42), Assumption (38), Franklin Pierce (33), Saint Michael's (24) and American International (9).
Adelphi returns its top three goal scorers from a season ago and 2022 NCAA Statistical champion in goals-against-average Dylan Renner. Joseph Duchnowski and Kyle Steinbach, who accounted for 38 and 33 goals, respectively, earned All-American honors at the conlcusion of last season's run, alongside Nick Paris who will return to the Panthers' dark side for another year with the Cats.
Kicking off the season in Florida, the team will take on the Sailfish and the Lynn University Fighting Knights (Feb. 20) before returning north to open up at Georgian Court University on Mar. 1. Purdie's crew was ranked fifth in the USA Lacrosse Magazine preseason poll, which was revealed in the January 2023 installment.
A rematch of the 2022 NE10 championship and the NCAA quarterfinal - in which the Panthers and Dolphins split - will cap the 2023 regular season when the 'Phins come to town for a 5:00 p.m. meeting on Apr. 25.
2023 NE10 Men's Lacrosse Coaches' Poll
1. Adelphi – 95 (6)
2. Le Moyne – 92 (4)
3. Saint Anselm – 84 (1)
4. Pace – 73
5. Bentley – 65
6. Southern New Hampshire – 50
7. Saint Rose - 42
8. Assumption – 38
9. Franklin Pierce – 33
10. Saint Michael's – 24
11. American International – 9
