#4 Adelphi Edges #3 Men's Lacrosse in NE-10 Semifinals, 17-15
Links: Highlights | Box Score
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – In a back-and-forth affair that saw both sides combine for 20 goals in the first half alone and 32 when all was said and done, it was fourth-ranked and third-seeded Adelphi that ultimately wound up on top, as the third-ranked and second-seeded Merrimack College men's lacrosse team dropped a 17-15 decision to the Panthers in the semifinal round of the 2015 Northeast-10 Conference Championship on Friday.
The Basics
Score: #4 Adelphi 17, #3 Merrimack 15
Records: #3 Merrimack (12-2) | #4 Adelphi (14-2)
Location: Martone-Mejail Field | North Andover, Mass.
How It Happened
In a rematch of last year's NE-10 Final, Merrimack and Adelphi returned to the turf on Friday looking for a spot in this year's league championship with a date against top-ranked Le Moyne on Sunday.
For those looking for a defensive battle, Friday's matchup was quite the opposite, as both teams combined for 12 goals in the opening quarter alone.
The Panthers tickled the twine just 25 seconds into the game to spark the offensive onslaught; junior Ryan Poirier (Warwick, R.I.) answered two minutes later but Adelphi regained the lead shortly after. Back-to-back goals by the hosts gave the Warriors a 3-2 lead with under 10 to go in the frame, but that would be the only time Merrimack would lead all game.
Adelphi responded 46 seconds later to draw even at 3-3, but that only sparked a string of four straight tallies by the visitors, who used a game-changing 4-0 run over a six-minute span to take a 7-3 lead. Merrimack would have the last laughs of the frame, as senior Jamie Shand (Massapequa, N.Y.) scored with three minutes left and then, after classmate Kyle Guilbert (Walpole, Mass.) was denied by AU goalkeeper DJ Mauro (15 saves), junior captain Scott Corcoran (Haverhill, Mass.) crashed the net and tipped in the rebound with nine ticks on the clock, cutting the deficit to 7-5 heading to the second.
Tim Daly used two quick strikes to restore the four-goal lead for Adelphi before junior Tim Towler (Topsfield, Mass.) sparked a three-goal run for Merrimack with his second of the game at 10:44 of the second stanza. Sophomore Tucker Schwarz (Tallahassee, Fla.) then hit the hat trick mark on back-to-back goals to make it a 9-8 affair midway through the second.
Each side would trade goals over the final seven minutes of the half – including Schwarz's fourth of the game – and Merrimack nearly had a chance to get back to within one in the closing minute of the stanza, but the Panthers carried a 11-9 edge into the break.
Sophomore Max Allen (West Caldwell, N.J.) opened up the second half with his first of the game just over a minute into the third before reigning NE-10 Player of the Year Salvatore Tuttle came up with his second strike of the contest two minutes later. That set the tone for a six-goal third quarter that saw both sides tally three each; Adelphi fired in back-to-back markers following another Towler tally, but Guilbert capitalized on an errant Adelphi pass and scored with 5:47 left in the period to make it a two-goal game (14-12) heading to the fourth after Merrimack was unable to capitalize on a two-man advantage late in the frame.
The Warriors got back to within one after Allen got his second of the game to go with 9:27 left, but Adelphi quieted the home crowd with three straight goals within a span of 90 seconds to put the Panthers ahead for good.
Trailing by four, Shand buried his second marker with 4:12 to play before Towler scored with 91 seconds left. Merrimack won the ensuing faceoff but would be kept in check the rest of the way, as the Panthers earned a repeat trip to the league finals and a chance to defend their crown against Le Moyne on Sunday.
Inside The Numbers
- Schwarz did nearly everything he could for the Warriors on Friday, finishing with a career-high seven points on four goals and three assists
- Towler added five points of his own on four goals and an assist
- Shand (2g, 1a) and Allen (2g) were the only other Merrimack multi-point scorers, while Tuttle's eight points (5g, 3a) led the Panthers
- The fate of the game might've been different if not for Merrimack hitting five posts and one crossbar over the course of regulation
- The Merrimack defense caused seven turnovers, with two each coming from Towler and Corcoran, as Adelphi totaled 22 turnovers to Merrimack's 14
- Sophomore Dom Madonna (Liverpool, N.Y.) finished with nine saves while Mauro turned away 15
- Merrimack outshot Adelphi, 65-39, placing 30 on net to Adelphi's 26
- Each side finished with only one man-up goal; the Warriors finished 1-for-5 on the man advantage while the Panthers went 1-for-4
Up Next
The Warriors, who were ranked second in the final regional rankings of the regular season, will learn their NCAA Tournament fate when the Division II selection show airs on Sunday (May 3) night at 7:30 p.m.
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