Adelphi breezes through NCAA Tournament men's lacrosse opener in pursuit of a three-peat
Ries Bower of Adelphi makes it 2-0 during an NCAA Division II first round mens lacrosse game against Wilmington in Garden City on Sunday, May 10, 2026. Credit: Peter Frutkoff
With its 26th consecutive win, the possibility of a three-peat for the Adelphi men’s lacrosse team is one step closer to becoming a reality.
The top-seeded Panthers opened their quest for a third consecutive NCAA Division II title with a 16-6 opening-round win over eighth-seeded Wilmington at Adelphi’s Motamed Field on Sunday. Adelphi (17-0) will host fourth-seeded Pace (13-5) in the quarterfinals on Wednesday at 4 p.m.
“With these 26 wins, there’s been 26 opportunities to get better,” Adelphi coach Gordon Purdie said. “We want to get to a national championship. We understand what we’ve got to do to get there, and we’re just counting the days until we get to play, whoever the opposition is, so that we can get there.”
The Panthers ran away with it early, keeping Wilmington (12-5) off the scoreboard through the game’s first 24 minutes, 23 seconds, during which time they built a 7-0 cushion. Junior defender Ries Bower played a big hand in the dominant start.
With 12:39 remaining in the first quarter, Wilmington tried to create a shot on the doorstep by getting a shooter open on the back door, but Bower sealed it with a strong check to take away the open look.
With 7:10 left, he made an acrobatic catch over a defender while in transition, darted upfield and finished top shelf for his third goal of the season, making it 2-0. A minute later, he zoomed through the X and blocked a shot in the 8-meter arc to preserve the lead.
With 35 seconds left in the opening frame, Bower picked up a ground ball in front of Adelphi’s cage and cleared it himself to help secure a first-quarter shutout. He finished with a goal, seven ground balls and four caused turnovers.
“We preach it all week in practice: We’ve got to win the first five minutes,” Bower said. “So just going out there and doing whatever you can to get the juice up for the team, I think we did that today.”
Junior attackman Braden Donnellan — a Plainedge alumnus — had a goal and four assists for Adelphi. Sophomore attackman Alex Titto had three goals and junior midfielder Danny Fisenne had two goals and two assists.
“I never want to end up with a loss on the scoreboard, so that just gives me extra motivation to get the win,” Donnellan said. “It feels great. We’re on to the next, though.”
Mike Anderson is a high school sports reporter who has covered 12 sports so far at Newsday. He was the sports editor of Stony Brook University's campus newspaper for two years.
