GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – After a thrilling 12-11 overtime victory over No. 5-seed Saint Anselm College Tuesday evening at Pace Stadium, the fourth-seeded Pace University men's lacrosse team is set to take on top-seeded Adelphi University Friday evening at Motamed Field in the 2017 Northeast-10 Conference Championship Semifinals at Motamed Field.
GAME INFORMATION
WHO: #4 Pace at #1 Adelphi
WHAT: 2017 NE10 Championship Semifinals
WHERE: Motamed Field
WHEN: Friday, May 5 – 7 p.m.
WHY: For a spot in the NE10 Championship Game!
TICKETS
$6 for Adults, Faculty and Staff
$4 for Senior Citizens and Youth
$1 for Students
HOW TO WATCH
Live Stats:
http://www.sidearmstats.com/adelphi/mlax
Live Video:
http://aupanthers.tv/
NATIONAL RANKINGS
USILA:
Pace - #5
Adelphi - #3
US Lacrosse Magazine:
Pace - #6
Adelphi - #3
LAST TIME THEY MET
The Setters and Panthers last met back on April 11 at Motamed Field. Adelphi entered on an eight-game winning streak, including victories over nationally-ranked opponents LIU Post, Saint Anselm, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and Merrimack College. Pace had recently fallen to then-top-ranked Le Moyne College, but was coming into the game having defeated then-No. 15 SNHU.
Adelphi led the game, 5-2, with 8:03 left in the second quarter. Junior
Joshua Kreitler (Shelton, CT/Shelton) scored the final goal of the half to send the game into the break with a 5-3 score. Pace scored the first three goals to open the second half, taking a 6-5 lead with 12:53 left in regulation. Adelphi tied it up just 52 seconds later, but Pace went on to score the final four goals of the game and knock off the Panthers, 10-6.
Full Game Recap:
Dominant Second Half Pushes No. 8 Pace Men's Lacrosse Past No. 3 Adelphi
A DEEPER LOOK AT THE SETTERS
Pace heads into Friday's First Round contest riding a seven-game winning streak, the second of which came against Adelphi. The Setters are now 12-2 overall after winning Tuesday's NE10 First Round contest against Saint Anselm.
As a team, the Setters find themselves near the top of the national rankings in numerous statistical categories. They rank ninth in scoring offense with an average of 13.14 goals scored per game, which also puts them second in the NE10. They are second in the NCAA with 8.43 assists per game, eighth with 21.57 points per game, and 19th with 8.50 goals allowed per game. Pace is also eighth with 9.79 caused turnovers per contest and 12th with 33.79 ground balls per outing.
Many individual Setters also rank near the top of the NCAA and NE10 statistical rankings.
Bradley Paterson (Caldwell, NJ/Depaul Catholic) and
Liam Brennan (Huntington Station, NY/Walt Whitman) are tied at the top of the league with 28 assists apiece. They are both tied for 10th in the nation with 2.00 assists per game. Brennan is No. 16 in the nation with 4.21 points per game, and stands second in the NE10 with a total of 59 points. Paterson sits in fourth with 53 points. Junior
Joshua Kreitler (Shelton, CT/Shelton) is third in the league with a team-high 36 goals. Brennan is tied for sixth in the NE10 with 31 goals.
While they are highly impressive on offense, the Setters are no slouches defensively. Senior
Brandon Donnellan (Chester, NY/Warwick Valley) is second in the NE10 with 26 caused turnovers, and tied for 15th in all of Division II with 1.86 caused turnovers per game. Junior goalkeeper
Robert Beshlian (Wantagh, NY/Wantagh) is tied for second in the NE10 with a .584 save percentage, which also places him eighth in the nation. He is also fourth in the conference with an 8.49 goals-against average, good for 15th in all of Division II.
SCOUTING THE PANTHERS
Since losing to Pace, the Panthers have won their last four games, including a 13-12 overtime victory over Bentley, a 9-5 win over then-No. 3 Le Moyne, and a 9-7 defeat of then-No. 7 New York Institute of Technology. They are 13-2 overall, having only lost to Pace and an early-season defeat at the hands of Lynn University down in Boca Raton, Fla.
Adelphi has the 29th-ranked attack in Division II with 11.20 goals per game, but the sixth-best scoring defense in the country, giving up just 7.27 goals per contest. The Panthers rank fifth in the nation with a .636 faceoff winning percentage.
Ian Kirby leads the Panthers with 48 points on 29 goals and a team-high 19 assists. Gordon Purdie Jr. is second with 26 points on 18 goals and 18 assists, while Nicolas Racalbuto leads the team with 30 goals and has 34 points. Mark Andrejack is second in the NE10 with 97 ground balls and a faceoff winning percentage of .643, which also places him eighth in the country. Goalkeeper Brendan McDougal is second in the NE10 with a 7.29 goals-against average, and first with a .605 save percentage. His goals-against average ranks fourth in Division II, while his save percentage is third.
THE OTHER SIDE OF THE BRACKET
No. 2 Le Moyne hosts No. 3 Merrimack in the other Semifinal matchup on Friday in Syracuse, N.Y. The game begins at 11 a.m.
Le Moyne enters as the No. 4 team in the latest USILA Division II poll, while Merrimack is the No. 2 team in the nation. The last time the Dolphins and Warriors met was a classic matchup, needing double overtime to determine a winner. Merrimack held a 10-8 lead late in the game, but Le Moyne scored three straight goals in just over two minutes to take an 11-10 advantage with just 2:27 left in regulation. Merrimack tied the game again with 1:08 remaining in the fourth to send the game into overtime. With just one second left in the second overtime period, Le Moyne's Josh Slowinski netted the game-winner for a 12-11 final in favor of then-top-ranked Le Moyne.
CHAMPIONSHIP INFORMATION
2017 NE10 Men's Lacrosse Championship
1. Adelphi (10-1)
2. Le Moyne (9-2) *
3. Merrimack (9-2) *
4. Pace (9-2) *
5. Saint Anselm (7-4)
6. Southern New Hampshire (6-5)
* In the "mini-conference" of Le Moyne, Merrimack and Pace, Le Moyne earned the #2 seed based on a 2-0 record in the mini-conference; Merrimack earned the #3 seed with a 1-1 record and Pace the #4 seed with a 0-2 record.
Tuesday, May 2nd
First Round
Game 1: #3 Merrimack 13, #6 SNHU 10
Game 2: #4 Pace 12, #5 Saint Anselm 11, OT
Friday, May 5th
Semifinals
Game 3: #4 Pace at #1 Adelphi, 7:00 pm
Game 4: #3 Merrimack at #2 Le Moyne, 11:00 am
Sunday, May 7th
Championship at Highest Remaining Seed
Game 5: Game 3 winner vs. Game 4 winner – 1:00 p.m. at Higher Seed **
** The championship game time may be adjusted if one institution ends up hosting both the men's and women's championship games.
For all information regarding Pace University men's lacrosse, log on to
www.PaceUAthletics.com, follow Pace Athletics on Facebook (
T-Bone, Official Mascot of Pace University Athletics), and follow the men's lacrosse team on Twitter (
@PaceLacrosse) and on Instagram (
@PaceUnivLax).
