Susko, Wynn lead Adelphi in one-goal loss
Adelphi's Vincent Alestra looks to keep LeMoyne's Jack Harmatuk away from the net. (Apr. 20, 2011) Credit: Patrick E. McCarthy
There was very little for Gordon Purdie to strategize with his team. Adelphi had just scored with half a second remaining, cutting Le Moyne's lead to 9-8, but with virtually no time left -- barely enough for two chirps of the whistle at the ensuing faceoff -- the game was over.
Wednesday's game, anyway. Purdie called a time out with 0.5 on the clock not to try and figure out a way to salvage this important men's lacrosse contest, but to begin laying the groundwork for one that could take place in a few weeks.
"The reason we called a timeout there was to let them watch the scoreboard and to see that we had a chance to win this game," Purdie said. "Have a look at the scoreboard and know that we're going to see them again."
No. 6 Adelphi (10-2, 6-1) fell behind No. 2 Le Moyne (10-1, 8-0) in the Northeast-10 standings, but a rematch upstate in the conference's tournament seems almost inevitable. If things fall into place, the two teams could possibly meet a third time in the NCAA Division II Tournament. That would be just fine with Adelphi, which showed it can trade punches with a pedigreed program. Le Moyne has lost in the national final each of the last three seasons.
"I would love to see them again," said Adelphi defenseman Kyle Yberg, who had two assists. "Now that we know we can play with them, that we can do everything against them, we can come out victorious."
Adelphi took its last lead of the game at 6-5 with 3:58 left in the third quarter when Yberg tossed a long pass to Tommy Susko in transition. But the Panthers did not score again for 18:23. By that time Le Moyne had scored four goals to go up 9-6. Adelphi scored twice in the final 35 seconds, the last by Bryan Hall off a pass from Yberg.
Susko and Shane Wynn each scored twice for Adelphi. Goalie Eric Janssen made 13 saves. Matt Chadderdon scored three goals for Le Moyne, two in the fourth quarter as the Dolphins built their lead.
The loss snapped Adelphi's school-record 10-game winning streak. The Panthers have three regular-season games plus the conference tournament. Although the loss certainly did not help their chances of getting into the NCAA Tournament as the North Region representative or the one at-large in the four-team bracket, it didn't squash them either.
"We believe the season's not over yet," Purdie said.
