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Highlights
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – The second-ranked Merrimack College men's lacrosse team – backed by a Herculean effort by sophomore
Charlie Bertrand, in particular – powered its way to a 17-11 victory over rival and fourth-ranked Adelphi in the semifinal round of the 2018 Northeast-10 Conference Men's Lacrosse Championship on Friday afternoon at Merrimack Stadium. Coupled with an upset in the other semifinal, Friday's win gave the Warriors the right to host the title game of the league tournament on Sunday against Saint Anselm College at 1 p.m.
The Basics
Score: Merrimack 17, Adelphi 11
Records: #2 Merrimack (14-1, 10-1 NE10) | #4 Adelphi (11-4, 9-2 NE10)
Location: Merrimack Stadium | North Andover, Mass.
Attendance: 1127
Duration: 2:00
Rapid Recap
- After an early Adelphi goal put the visitors in front, Merrimack responded with three in succession – one each from sophomore Charlie Bertrand, graduate student John Bassett and senior Kyle Stenberg – to turn a one-goal deficit into a 3-1 lead. But the Panthers scored the final two goals of the quarter, as the two sides found themselves knotted at 3-3 after 15 minutes.
- The Warriors flexed their scoring prowess at the start of the second quarter, netting three not even four minutes into the frame to march ahead by a 6-3 margin. Adelphi got as close as two goals, but the Warriors scored four of the final five goals to close out the half and double up the Panthers at the game's midpoint (10-5). The standout statistic of the first half was the fact that Bertrand singlehandedly equaled the Panthers' goal total (5) in the opening 30 minutes.
- The Warriors scored five of the first six goals to start the third quarter, with rookie Christian Thomas netting three during that span while Bertrand recorded his eighth point and sixth goal of the game to cap off that run. Adelphi netted a pair in the last few minutes of the frame, but Christian Thomas set up his brother, sophomore Dom Thomas, for a highlight-reel tally with 49 seconds left in the stanza, as Merrimack took an eight-goal lead (16-8) into the final break.
- Early penalties gave the Panthers a few chances, including a locked-in penalty for a minute and another minute-long penalty. Adelphi would capitalize on two of those three man-up opportunities to generate a bit of momentum of its own and cut the deficit to six, but Stenberg had an answer to turn the tide back in the hosts' favor. From there on out, the Panthers would only muster one more before the final horn sounded to send the Warriors back to the league title game for the first time in two years.
Top Performances
- Bertrand's incredible performance featured a career-high eight points on six goals and two assists, finishing one goal back of his single-game best, as well.
- Both Christian Thomas and Stenberg had hat tricks, as well, while Thomas tied classmate Sean Black with five points on three goals and two helpers, while Black had a goal and a game-high four assists.
- Senior Dean Prouty (1g, 1a) had two points, as well, while Bassett, junior Michael O'Connell and Dom Thomas had the other goals for the home side.
- Senior Blake Boudreau won 18-of-30 faceoffs against one of the nation's best in Adelphi's Mark Andrejack and had 11 ground balls to lead the way on the X.
- Freshman Peter Brown started in net and finished with eight saves.
Notes and Numbers
- Merrimack advanced to the NE10 Championship for the 12th time in league history, second only to Le Moyne's 17 trips to the title game.
- The Merrimack defense held its 13th straight opponent to single-digit goals on Friday.
- Merrimack has now won the last 26 games it has scored 10 or more goals in; its last loss when posting a double-digit scoring total was in double overtime against Le Moyne (12-11) on March 18, 2017.
- Bertrand added to his league-leading goal total on the year (52), while Black added to his conference-leading total in overall scoring (75 points) and assists (45).
- Shots: 44-26 (26-19 SOG)
- EMO: (MC-ADE): 0-2 // 3-4
- Faceoffs: 18-14 // Ground Balls: 43-32
- Turnovers: 15-10 (5-5 CT) // Clears: 20-20 // 13-16
Up Next
Merrimack will meet No. 17 Saint Anselm in the league title game on Sunday (May 6) right back at Merrimack Stadium, with game time set for 1 p.m. The Hawks stunned top-seeded Le Moyne in overtime to advance to the NE10 Finals. After the game, Merrimack will learn its NCAA Tournament fate on Sunday night at 7:30 p.m. when the NCAA DII Men's Lacrosse Championship selection show airs on NCAA.com.
