No Safe Haven Against Division II Champ Adelphi
by Jeff Gilbert | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Adelphi's players hoist the 2009 NCAA Division III women's lacrosse championship trophy following their 16-4 win over Lock Haven in the final Sunday. © Brendan Bush |
SALEM, Va. -- Joe Spallina knew his Adelphi women's lacrosse team had the talent to score a lot this season. So he emphasized defense. His message was to force turnovers to get even more chances to score.
Spallina didn't have to work too hard to sell that idea to his defense based on his team's performance Sunday in the NCAA Division II national championship game. The Panthers dominated on both ends of the field to defeat Lock Haven 16-4 at Roanoke College.
"To beat our defense you really have to work, and that's what we like about it," Spallina said. "You're not going to score every single time down the field on us, but we might score every time down the field on you."
Adelphi previously won championships in 2004 and 2006 and is the first team to win three titles since tournament play began in 2001.
Lock Haven (18-4) took a 2-1 lead on goals by Kayleigh Johnson and Allison Berger. But after the Eagles were stopped on a free-position opportunity, Adelphi dominated the rest of the half with the help of turnovers to take a 9-2 halftime lead.
"Our defense was awesome today," said defender Emily Simpson.
Erica Devito and Rachel Ray were in the middle of most of Adelphi's eight-goal run over the final 18:24 of the half. Devito scored four goals and was assisted twice by Ray, who also scored a goal. Devito assisted on the final goal of the half.
Adelphi (18-0) did not relax on defense in the second half and set a finals record for margin of victory. The old record was eight.
"We knew how to beat it, we didn't work hard enough to beat it and we're going to pay for it for a long time," said Lock Haven coach Kristen Selvage.
Lock Haven's methodical offense helped Adelphi's pressure defense force not only turnovers but difficult shots that were easy saves for Caitlin Fitzpatrick. The comfort zone that the Panthers' took away from the Eagles' offense made for a comfortable attack for Adelphi's offense.
Ray's running of the offense has left her name all over the tournament record book. She set assist records for eight in a game in Saturday's semifinals, 12 for a tournament and 13 for a career.
"She'll see somebody where they're going to be in two steps and the defense has no clue," Spallina said. "She just sees the game and has special talents that you can't coach."
This was Ray's second national championship. Her first came as a freshman starter on a team that lost only once. The Panthers missed the tournament her sophomore year, then lost in the semifinals last year in Spallina's first year at his alma mater where he won a national title as a player on the men's team.
"I've been telling the freshmen how cool it was to be here when I was a freshman and how I want them to experience everything that I got to," Ray said. "The whole journey, this whole year, it meant a lot because we did lose last year. The freshmen came in acting as if they'd lost last year and that helped a lot."
This was Lock Haven's first trip to the finals following semifinal losses in 2005 and 2007. The Eagles would be a good bet to be back next year with a lineup that started only one senior, three juniors, four sophomores and four freshmen.
Eagles goalkeeper Kira Nuttall faced the Adelphi onslaught all day and set a tournament game record with 20 saves. She faced a tournament record 45 shots, which was 12 more than any team had taken in a final.
Just the way Spallina likes it: Force 22 turnovers and get lots of shots.
