Men's Lacrosse Falls to #5 Adelphi 13-8 in Northeast-10 Championship
GARDEN CITY, NY – The Merrimack men's lacrosse team's quest to repeat as Northeast-10 Tournament Champions was dashed on Sunday as #5 Adelphi won its first NE-10 title, defeating the Warriors 13-8 at Motamed Field.
Merrimack finishes the 2011 campaign with an 11-6 record after seeing its season-high four-game winning streak snapped. Adelphi, which finished second in the conference in the regular season, notched its first NE-10 title in its second year in the league. The Panthers will await Sunday night's NCAA Selection Show to see if they are selected to the NCAA Final Four.
The NE-10 Goalkeeper of the Year Eric Janssen was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Mike Perdie (Wading River, NY) and Phil Ketrelakes (Peabody, MA) represented Merrimack on the NE-10 All-Tournament team.
After defeating Bentley Tuesday in the quarterfinals and #1 Le Moyne Friday in the semifinals, Merrimack was not as sharp Sunday, as the visitors turned the ball over 16 times and struggled to pick up loose balls all over the field.
"We didn't do the little things," said head coach Mike Morgan. "We didn't clear well and didn't do well getting ground balls. Adelphi played well."
Corey Lunney (Little Silver, NJ) netted his 34th of the season at 5:00 of the first, but the Panthers outshot Merrimack 2-1 after one, despite four saves from Connor Reagan (East Lyme, CT).
The Panthers controlled the ball for virtually the entire second quarter, netting three goals while taking a 5-3 halftime lead. Michael Balbuena (Falmouth, MA) and Perdie scored 70 seconds apart early in the period, but the Warriors' clear and transition games coughed the ball up numerous times, giving Adelphi extra offensive opportunities and limiting Merrimack's chances.
The Warriors committed eight turnovers in the first half and were probably fortunate to trail by just two at halftime. Nick Maggio (Winchester, MA) continued his dominance in the faceoff circle, winning seven of ten draws in the first 30 minutes.
Adelphi poured it on in the third, scoring four of the period's five goals as they began to pull away from Merrimack, taking a 9-4 lead. Tommy Susko notched his third of the game 61 seconds after Perdie scored his second, and Kevin Kennedy closed the quarter with a goal with 29 seconds to play.
Merrimack made one last comeback attempt as Lunney and Terence Barclay (Babylon, NY) scored 1:43 apart to cut the lead to 9-6 with 10:26 remaining. But Danny Blau responded just 26 seconds later, and the Panthers scored the game's next three goals to push the lead to 12-6, putting the game away.
Adelphi registered 42 ground balls, led by eight from Blau, compared to 37 for Merrimack, who was led by Maggio and Brad McAdam (Neshanic Station, NJ), who tallied six each. The Warriors failed on six of their 19 clearing attempts, while Adelphi converted on 19 of 21.
Lunney finished with a team-high three goals, finishing with 39 in his sophomore campaign. Perdie finished with a pair of goals, while Bryan Pollack (Shelton, CT), Barclay and Balbuena each had a goal apiece. Paul Jones (Guilderland, MA) assisted on Merrimack's two early fourth quarter goals, while Reagan finished with nine stops. Maggio, who completed an outstanding postseason in the X, won 15 of 25 draws Sunday, while setting the school record for ground balls in a season.
Janssen made 20 saves for the Panthers. Susko tallied four goals in the win, while Joe Vitale had three goals and three assists.
Adelphi became the first team to defeat Merrimack twice in a season since Le Moyne downed the Warriors three times in 2009.
After starting the season ranked fourth nationally, Merrimack struggled in the middle of its season, suffering five losses in a nine-game span after starting the season 3-0. But the Warriors rallied late, becoming the first team to defeat Le Moyne in Syracuse in consecutive meetings since 2003 to reach their third straight title game.
"We played well on the road as a team all year," said Morgan. "The team really turned it on late during the postseason but it just didn't happen today."
