Charlottesville, VA - Sixty minutes stands between Adelphi University men's lacrosse and history, as the team takes on the University of Tampa for the second consecutive season in the NCAA Division II Championship on Sunday, May 24 at 4:00 p.m.
A victory on Memorial Day would cement this era of Panther lacrosse in history, becoming the first team to win three-straight titles, and wrapping up a perfect season in 2026.
Details:
- Location: Scott Stadium (University of Virginia), Charlottesville, VA
- Time: 4:00 PM
- Watch/Stats: NCAA.com
- Join Adelphi Alumni Relations at Doc O'Grady's (Garden City South) for a watch party in New York.
Inside the Matchup:
2026 marks the 24th time that the Panther men's lacrosse program earned a spot in the NCAA Division II tournament, dating back to the 1948 season. In 78 seasons, the Panthers post a Division II-leading nine national championship titles and are chasing the program's tenth all-time. No other Division II men's team has ever won three consecutive. The only other Division II lacrosse team to put together a three-peat is the Adelphi University women's team who won in 2009, 2010, and 2011. Only six teams in NCAA history have won three straight men's lacrosse championships: Johns Hopkins (1978, 79, 80), Syracuse (1988, 89, 90), Princeton (1996, 97, 98), Middlebury (2000, 01, 02), Salisbury (2003, 04, 05) and Hobart (1980-1991). Tufts is also looking for a third straight title at the DIII level on Sunday.
All-time, the teams are 2-2 against each other, with the Panthers earning an early season win in 2019 and last year in an overtime victory in the National Championship game.
Adelphi has outscored opponents 88-24 in the postseason - with an average margin of 12.8 goals per game.
The Panthers boast the No. 1 defense and No. 1 goalkeeper in the country in Christian Tomei. Tomei is DII's active career leader in goals against average after two seasons at this level. He ranks second in the statistic across all levels of the NCAA.
The matchup pits the top two defenses in the country, with the Spartans led by Maryland transfer Westin Schmidt in goal.
With 170 assists as only a junior, Adelphi's Braden Donnellan is DII's active career leader in helpers. He's fourth in the stat across all NCAA levels and ranks 18 assists behind Syracuse's Joey Spallina -- who is also playing in Charlottesville this weekend. With 192 goals, Saint Rose transfer Noah Gibson is DII's active leader in that category.
