For Immediate Release
May 22, 2011
Courtesy of the Adelphi Sports Information Department
Garden City, N.Y. - The No. 1 ranked Adelphi University women's lacrosse team won its third straight Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship this afternoon with a 17-4 victory over No. 3 Limestone College. Adelphi ends their season a perfect 20-0 as well. The 13-goal victory was also the largest margin of victory in a National Championship game in Division II Women's Lacrosse.
For the Panthers, junior Erica Devito scored four goals and handed out three assists, while senior Elizabeth Fey and Marissa Mills each scored four goals. Junior Claire Petersen handed out four assists and freshman Frankie Caridi set aside six shots in the win.
"Our focus at the beginning of the season was to play our best lacrosse at the end of the season and play our best game in the National Championship," said fourth-year Head Coach Joe Spallina.
The Panthers got out to a good start, scoring the game's first six goals. Sophomore Demianne Cook scored the first goal of the game, just under six minutes into the contest. A little more than a minute after Cook's tally, Petersen set up Devito with a behind-the-back pass for a 2-0 Adelphi advantage.
Mills would then score the next two Adelphi goals, both unassisted. With 20 minutes left in the half, Petersen set up Devito once again for a score, while senior Kaitlyn Carter scored Adelphi's sixth goal of the half just over two minutes after Devito's second goal.
Limestone would get on the board with 17:32 left on the clock when Raquel Prager found Chelsea Treat, cutting Adelphi's lead down to five. Freshman Devan Crimi found the back of the net with just over 15 minutes left to give Adelphi their six-goal lead back. For the third time in the first half Petersen set up Devito for a score, sending the Panthers into the locker room with a 8-1 lead.
Adelphi opened the final 30 minutes of play with three straight goals in a five-minute span. Mills would score the first of three goals, her third of the afternoon, while Cook and Fey followed suite with the next two goals.
The Saints came back with back-to-back goals to cut the lead to 11-3. Adelphi would answer with three more goals. Sophomore Meg Brown would score an unassisted goal, her first of the game, with 14:16 remaining in regulation, while Fey scored the next for her second and third of the half, with the assists coming from Petersen and Devito.
With just under 10 minutes left on the clock, the Saints scored their fourth and final goal from Prager which came on a free position shot. Adelphi went on to score the game's final three goals. Devito would assist on Fey's fourth goal of the game for the first of three, while Devito and Mills scored the next two, respectively, giving Adelphi the 17-4 victory.
"Every year we have a different group of players," said Spallina. "This group genuinely cares for one another and when you combine that with our high skill level it makes them very special. Also, our assistant coaches did a tremendous job throughout the year and were amazing this season."
Five Panthers were also named to the All-Tournament Team: Fey, Petersen (Tournament Most Valuable Player), Caridi, Mills, and Cook.
Adelphi is now the only team in Division II Women's Lacrosse history to win three consecutive National Titles. The Panthers' 20-0 season was their second undefeated season in three years. Adelphi is also on a 26-game winning streak dating back to last season.