Colin Stephenson: Adelphi men's lacrosse team loses in OT in bid for three-peat
Adelphi's Kyle Lewis, left, had three goals and three assists in the NCAA Division II men's lacrosse championship against Tamps on Sunday. Credit: Miles Lineberger, Adelphi Athletics
The dynasty that seemed to be a sure thing got derailed.
Adelphi, attempting to become the first school to win three straight NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse titles, stunningly failed to get it done on Sunday. Playing the University of Tampa in the championship game for the second straight year, the Panthers found themselves in overtime for the second straight year. This time, however, Adelphi didn’t get the winner.
This time it was Tampa’s turn, as midfielder Tommy Ortega scored with 2:25 left in overtime to deal Adelphi its only loss of the season, 12-11, at Scott Stadium in Charlottesville, Virginia.
The loss was unexpected for a team that entered the championship game undefeated. The Panthers (19-1) had played only three close games — one-goal wins over St. Anselm and Molloy and a 10-7 win over Northeast 10 rival Pace in April — and coasted through their conference championship and three NCAA Tournament games on the way to the final.
Coach Gordon Purdie refused to call this a failed season for the Panthers.
“I don’t know if I’d use the word ‘failed,’ ’’ he said in a telephone interview after the game. “In life, you are given opportunities to just go out and compete, and on this Memorial Day [weekend], we had that opportunity.’’
Senior midfielder Kyle Lewis, the Division II Player of the Year and two-time first-team All-American and Midfielder of the Year, said the loss didn’t make him regret his decision to return to Adelphi this season. Lewis had entered the transfer portal and committed to Penn State after last season but walked away from a $170,000 NIL deal with the Nittany Lions and decided to return to Adelphi. He stood by that decision.
“Hands down, I 100% made the right decision to come back here,’’ said Lewis, who had three goals and three assists. “Not just because of our wins and the successes we have, but just because of the people that surrounded me. If I could go back, I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m so proud to wear a panther across my chest these past four years.’’
Lewis, who will join the Adelphi coaching staff next year as a graduate assistant, can comfort himself with knowing he hasn’t played his final lacrosse game. He was selected in the fourth round of the Premier Lacrosse League draft by the Philadelphia Waterdogs and will play professional lacrosse this summer.
“It definitely takes a little bit of the sting away, because it’s a different feeling when you know it’s your last time suiting up,’’ he said. “But most of the pain kind of comes from looking at . . . my brothers, who I know left it on the line, and they can’t suit up anymore. That’s where it really stings, looking at my teammates and seeing them being devastated.’’
Adelphi looked to be in control for most of the game, going ahead 5-1 and owning 9-6 and 11-9 leads. But Tampa (22-1) refused to go away, tying it on a goal by Ortega with 5:34 left in regulation.
Adelphi appeared to go ahead 12-11 on a goal by Michael Durnin with 1:27 left, but the officials looked at the play on video and ruled that Durnin’s hand landed in the goal crease before his shot went across the goal line. The goal was overturned.
Purdie said that while he was “shocked’’ at the loss, he learned from watching Tampa coach J.B. Clarke handle the Spartans’ loss in the title game last year. In that one, Tampa appeared to score what would have been the winning goal with 13 seconds left in regulation, but Clarke had called timeout. The game went to overtime and Lewis scored to win it for Adelphi.
“I watched [Clarke] have to deal with that for a whole year, and in watching him deal with it, it sort of gave me a reflection now to sort of say, ‘Oh, man, that’s how you got to deal with it,’ ’’ Purdie said. “And that is just keep your chin up and realize our players did everything they could on the field and off the field to be the best team they could. We just fell one short this year.”
Looking ahead, even with Lewis and Goalie of the Year Christian Tomei graduating, Purdie said the Panthers have plenty coming back. Three of their top four scorers, including Durnin and Braden Donnellan, the Division II Attackman of the Year, are juniors, as are Defender of the Year Ries Bower and Long Stick Midfielder of the Year Carter Linkletter. And more talent is incoming.
“We’ve hit the [transfer] portal hard,’’ Purdie said. “There’s been a million players that have reached out to us from Division I programs that are dying to come and play for Adelphi University. The future is bright.’’
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
