Adelphi women again claim NCAA title

Sunday's 17-4 Adelphi victory over Limestone College of Gaffney, S.C., in the NCAA Division II women's national lacrosse championship game qualified as a runaway chain reaction, rapidly reaching critical mass.

It began in the game's fifth minute when midfielder Demmianne Cook, a sophomore from Nesconset, lit the match for Adelphi with a no-nuance, no-assist goal -- a slashing charge through defensive traffic.

It built noticeably with a spellbinding fast-break score 30 seconds later -- consecutive behind-the-back passes on the dead run by Kings Park senior Elizabeth Fey and Wantagh junior Claire Petersen (tournament MVP) to set up Shoreham junior Erica Devito's tap-in.

"I think it was a good start to the game; like, this is what our team can do," Devito said.

"We do it every day in practice," Fey said, "but when I put it behind my back, I knew Claire was going to do it. So just to get it going . . . "

The snowball expanded, frighteningly for Limestone, when Islip junior Marissa Mills scored twice within 10 seconds and Devito scored 16 seconds later by converting Petersen's pass from behind the goal. Mineola senior Kaitlyn Carter bounced in a hard shot to make it 6-0 only 12 minutes into a scorched-earth Adelphi attack.

The victory meant a third consecutive national title and fifth in eight years for Adelphi, emphasizing a long and winding trail of falling dominoes and the self-fulfilling prophesy of coach Joe Spallina when he tells potential recruits that if they come to the Garden City campus, "they have the opportunity to win four national championships."

Members of this year's 20-0 team certainly believed Spallina and the proven Adelphi clout.

"I chose Adelphi because they had just come off their national championship in 2009," Cook said, "and it was a powerhouse team."

From Mills: "It was an opportunity to win national championships." And Devito: "I was also promised four national championships, and I definitely wanted to be part of this." And freshman goalie Frankie Caridi of East Northport: "I sat down with coach Spallina and the first thing he said to me was, 'Look at our past. If you want to win a national championship, this is the place to be.' "

Said Spallina, who declared his willingness to play any team in Division I at any time: "It's a high-end skill level we have, and we encourage that; we want the behind-the-back pass. We want them to play differently. If you can do this and this, you can grow as a player. We have good kids and we want to make them better."

They were unstoppable against Limestone (18-2), chasing the starting goalie early in the second half after expanding their lead to 11-1, scoring on dizzying charges from midfield, on nifty assists springing teammates into the open, on curling dodges from behind the cage.

Adelphi shut out Limestone's leading scorer, Seaford junior Raquel Prager, until 9:44 remained. Fey, Mills and Devito had four goals each.

"I read something that this was old news for Adelphi," Spallina said. "Winning a national championship is never old news." He takes advantage of the Island's lacrosse strength and "brings that Strong Island, us-against-the-world mentality. You have high-end players and surround them with other high-end players, it's foolproof. You make dummies like me look very smart."

Chemistry that isn't an experiment.