Bentley Gets Rematch with Adelphi in NE-10 Quarterfinals
WALTHAM, Mass. – Just four days after playing to close out the regular season, Bentley and Adelphi will take to the field again, this time in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Northeast-10 Men's Lacrosse Championship. The game is set for Tuesday at 3:00 p.m. from Adelphi's Motamed Field.
The game can be seen live on aupanthers.tv.
Bentley (5-8, 5-5 NE-10) is the sixth-seed in the tournament after head coach Jim Murphy directed his Falcons to their fifth straight playoff appearance and 11th in the last 12 years. Overall, Murphy has taken the program to the NE-10 playoffs 15 times.
They'll have to contend though with a hot Adelphi (12-2, 8-2 NE-10) team, which is the third-seed. The Panthers, which are ranked No. 5 in Division II by the USILA this week, have won six in a row and eight of nine. They're also the NE-10's defending champion after beating Merrimack 13-8 in the finals last year.
The Falcons were led offensively in the regular season by senior J.D. Ayer (Rochester, N.Y./McQuaid Jesuit) with 22 goals and 27 points. Fellow senior Brendan Grant (Walpole, Mass./Xaverian Brothers), a second team All-Conference choice last season, was second in those categories with 19 and 24. Classmate Richard Travers (Longmeadow, Mass./Longmeadow) led the way in assists (11), and junior Steve Caditz (Mercer Island, Wash./Mercer Island) emerged as a big contributor with 15 goals.
Defensively, sophomore Riley Merritt (Weston, Mass./Brewster Academy) led the way in caused turnovers (17), followed closely by sophomore Billy Sweeney (Garden City, N.Y./Garden City) with 15. Senior co-captain Keegan Haynes (Beaverton, Ore./Valley Catholic) has started 41 straight games.
For Adelphi it's been senior attack Joe Vitale, who leads the club in goals (34), assists (27) and points (61). He leads the league in points and is fifth in goals. Other threats are senior attack Danny Blau (21 goals, 20 assists), junior Michael Rossi (12 goals, 24 assists) and junior Joe Celano (24 goals). Senior goalie Eric Janssen has started all 14 games and is 12-2 on the season.
The winner of this game will face second-seeded Merrimack in the semifinals on Friday at 4:00 p.m. in North Andover. The other quarterfinal on Tuesday pits fifth-seeded Saint Anselm at fourth-seeded Saint Michael's, and the winner of that one visits top-seeded Le Moyne on Friday.