Garden City, N.Y. - For the first time since the 1998-1999 season, the Adelphi University men's lacrosse team looks to go back-to-back as National Champions after defeating Saint Anselm College on Sunday, 13-11 in the NCAA Division II National Semifinal.
The squad - who set a program record for wins on Sunday afternoon by extending to 18 in 2025 - is set to face the University of Tampa on Sunday, May 25 at 4:00 p.m. inside Gillette Stadium.
After trailing by one at the halftime break, in a rematch of last year's national semifinal, the Panthers (18-1) rattled off three unanswered to take the lead and never looked back.
Noah Gibson's goal at 12:09 in the third was a milestone as the newcomer set a new single season program record with his 64th of the year and equalizer in the contest.
Kyle Lewis found
Ryan Bauco for the go-ahead goal, while Gibson added another to cap the third quarter.
In the stretch, the Hawks (14-2) were held scoreless as reigning Division II Player of the Year
Dylan Renner turned up the heat between the pipes, stopping four shots. After only recording one save in the first half, he went on to pick up seven in the second half to keep Saint Anselm at bay.
The visitors held a commanding 18-11 edge in faceoffs won for the game, but committed nearly twice as many turnovers as the hosting Panthers. Defensively, five different players had a pair or more of caused turnovers, led by four courtesy of Gibson. Northeast-10 Defensive Player of the Year
Ries Bower had a trio of caused turnovers and scooped up four ground balls.
The fourth quarter was all
Michael Durnin as the Panthers went up by five with the help of three straight strikes from the sophomore. He tied the previous single season goal record of 63, before teammate Gibson put that away - leaving it to stand at 65. As regulation dipped below five minutes remaining, the Hawks continued to win at X and put together solid offensive attempts, with the last three goals going their way.
A huge stop from Renner in the final 20 seconds sealed the deal with Saint Anselm trailing by two and the ball in Adelphi's possession.
Adelphi takes on Tampa this Sunday at the site of the DI/II/III Championships - Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Masschusetts. The Spartans defeated Maryville on Sunday, in a 12-8 decision. This matchup will mark the fourth meeting all-time between the teams, with Tampa holding a 2-1 record against the Cats in its three previous meetings.
