Adelphi men's lacrosse a win away from repeating as national champ
Adelphi attack Noah Gibson (51) moves the ball in the first quarter during the NCAA Division II Men’s lacrosse quarterfinal playoff game between Adelphi and Molloy on Sunday May11, 2025 at Adelphi University Credit: Bob Sorensen
Each time a player or coach entered the Adelphi men’s lacrosse locker room this season, they were reminded of the team’s ambition. Shortly after winning the 2024 Division II national championship last May, coach Gordon Purdie changed the passcode on the doors to that area to reflect the 1998 and 1999 teams, the last Panthers squads to win back-to-back titles.
It was a not-so-subtle reminder to all: If you want to come in here, you have to accept the challenge.
“It was immediately said by many that if we don’t get back to a national championship game then the season is not all it should be,” Purdie said this week. “It was announced to the team that this is how we truly feel.”
The Panthers have opened every door in front of them, both real and metaphorical. Now there is just one more to go through.
After setting a school-record with 18 wins against just one early-season loss to St. Anselm — one which they avenged twice by beating them in the conference final and again in the national semifinal last weekend — Adelphi will face undefeated Tampa (21-0) in the Division II final on Sunday at Gillete Stadium in Foxborough. It will attempt to be the first school to win consecutive championships in the sport since Merrimack did it in 2018 and 2019.
While that was the goal almost as soon as the team bus returned from Philadelphia last Memorial Day weekend, it wasn’t always a sure thing. Adelphi graduated four of its top six scorers from that team and goalie Dylan Renner, the 2024 Division II Player of the Year out of Mineola High School, explored the transfer portal in June.
“I don’t think I got any sleep during that time,” Purdie said.
Eventually, though, Renner decided to return to Adelphi for his final year of eligibility as a grad student.
“The reason I came back is that I knew we had a real shot to go back and do it back-to-back,” Renner said. “From Day One this whole team’s mindset has always been we’re going back. We knew we were going back, we knew we had the talent to go back. It was just, can we put it together?”
As for the offense, Adelphi added Noah Gibson, a transfer from St. Rose, a school that closed its doors last year. Gibson set a new school record with 65 goals this season. Michael Durnin, a sophomore from Massapequa, is not far behind with 63.
Adelphi's Braden Donnellan (99) looks to get around St. Anselm's Ryan Slattery (33) in the second quarter during the NCAA Division II men's lacrosse semifinal playoff game between Adelphi and St Anselm on Sunday May 19, 2024 at Adelphi University. Credit: Bob Sorensen
Adelphi also benefited from the growth of Braden Donnellan, who became a starter the second half of last year as a freshman and has quickly evolved into the centerpiece of the team as a sophomore. Donnellan, a product of Plainedge High School, has 109 points this year (38 goals, 71 assists), tying the single-season school record set by Bob Engelke in 1979.
“He became a guy we could count on for big goals, a guy who could see the field as well as anyone,” Purdie said. “The first week of practice there were many times he was scoring on Renner. He couldn’t do that the previous year. That’s just one example of a player who went away and got better. His success that he has found this year is an absolute testament to the work he did last summer . . . If there is a quarterback on our team, it would be him.”
“Last season it was very senior-heavy and I had a lot of good role models teaching me things I needed to learn,” Donnellan said. “This offseason I knew I would have to be a leader so I wanted to make sure I was in my best form for the season . . . Last year I was not the first-option guy but this year I was able to take that role and it’s been going well so far.”
Despite the challenge of repeating being at the forefront of the entire season, Renner said he won’t be thinking about that on Sunday. Nor will he be reflecting on what will be the final game of one of the most decorated careers in Adelphi history no matter the result.
“I can reminisce about it for the rest of my life the second the last whistle happens,” Renner said. “For now, I’m taking it as just another game. We just have to go out and compete and show we are the best team in the country.”
As for Donnellan, he said if the Panthers win he will celebrate the accomplishment but also immediately start thinking about the next challenge: A three-peat.
“Oh yeah, 100%,” he said. “Once this one is over, we’ll have a quick bounce-back to the fall and get ready for next season.”
No Adelphi men's team has ever won three straight. The first thing they’ll need to reach that goal is a win on Sunday.
The second? Find a new code for the doors.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
