Charlottesville, VA - Up two goals heading into the last 15 minutes of regulation, the Adelph University men's lacrosse team suffered it's first - and only - loss of 2026, as the University of Tampa scored the overtime gamewinner to win the NCAA Division II National Championship on Sunday, 12-11.
Series History:
- With the loss, Adelphi (19-1) dips to 2-3 all-time against Tampa (21-1).
Highlights:
- Kyle Lewis concluded his collegiate career with six points, courtesy of three goals and three assists.
- Vincent McDermott and Braden Donnellan each finished with a pair of points, as Adelphi saw nine different goal scorers in the contest.
- Christian Tomei capped his first season with the Panthers with nine saves between the pipes.
How it Happened:
- After Tampa scored the opening goal of the contest, Adelphi responded quickly, as Braden Donnellan found the back of the cage nearly a minute later. His strike got things going for the Panthers, who rattled off four unanswered to take a 5-1 lead.
- Before the first quarter came to a close, Tampa's Rex Kesselring broke the silence for the Spartans, scoring his 37th of the season. Adelphi netminder Christian Tomei made three big stops to keep Tampa off the board.
- The Spartans used that momentum to put up three goals in the second quarter, but still trailed at the halftime break.
- Scoring the first tally of the second half, Carter Linkletter found Brett Oppenheim on the doorstep to make it a two-goal game after six minutes ticked off the clock. The Cats extended the lead to three with a Noah Gibson strike. Making it eight different goal-scorers for Adelphi, the Brown and Gold used a faceoff win from William Greaves who completed the play with his first goal of the 2026 campaign to push the score to 9-7.
- Tampa began to chip away in the fourth, but the Panthers still held onto a two-goal edge with 8:57 on the clock.
- A pair of goals within a minute of each other for Tampa made it a tie game at 11-all, but neither side could find the back of the cage, forcing overtime for the second consecutive year.
- Adelphi won the opening faceoff of OT, but a high shot from Michael Durnin saw a Tampa player closest, returning possession to the Spartans. They marched down field and used a lefty strike to end the game, avenging the 2025 defeat.
The Panthers conclude the 2026 campaign as the National Runners-Up with a 19-1 mark, matching last year's record as well.
