Michael Durnin's four-goal game leads Adelphi men's lacrosse team back to national title game

As the clock hit zero at Adelphi’s Motamed Field on Sunday, Dropkick Murphys’ iconic hit song, “I’m Shipping Up to Boston,” blared as fans lined the bleachers with signs spelling out the city’s name.

The Adelphi men’s lacrosse team could have heard a different song, however — a sadder tune, one that seemed plausible when it trailed by a goal at halftime. Instead, top-seeded Adelphi held No. 2 Saint Anselm scoreless for the first 25 minutes of the second half and rallied to win the NCAA Division II national semifinal, 13-11.

Defending national champion Adelphi (18-1) will face Tampa (21-0) for the national title on Sunday at 4 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.

Brothers Michael and Ryan Durnin of Massapequa played crucial roles. Michael scored four goals and Ryan played lockdown defense, causing a pair of turnovers to help the Panthers hold St. Anselm to three second-half goals.

“It just means so much to not only share this experience with my brother but my 50 other brothers on the team,” Ryan said. “We all love each other very much and we weren’t ready for it to be over.”

Ries Bower and East Islip’s Stephen DeAmicis also stood out on defense for Adelphi. Mineola graduate Dylan Renner (eight saves) played a significant role in the turnaround after struggling early. He allowed eight goals and made only one save in the first half.

“It wasn’t my greatest half,” Renner said. “Emotions were running high and I was getting frustrated with myself. I walked into that locker room and said, offense had me in that first half, now it’s going to be our turn to have you in the second half.”

Massapequa graduate Vincent McDermott sparked a seven-goal run for Adelphi beginning with nine seconds left in the first half and bookended by Michael Durnin’s final goal with 6:57 remaining in the fourth quarter. Carey graduate Kyle Lewis had two goals and three assists.

“He’s an incredible player,” Adelphi coach Gordon Purdie said of Lewis. “I believe Kyle sees the field as good as any midfielder in the country.”

The Hawks (14-2), who handed the Panthers their only loss this season, lost in overtime to Adelphi, 13-12, in the Northeast 10 championship game on May 3.

“Defensively I thought we did a much better job this time around,” St. Anselm coach Drew Bourdeau said. “[Adelphi has] such great feeders who can throw guys open inside.”

Noah Gibson (65) broke and Michael Durnin (63) tied Nicolas Racalbuto’s 2019 single-season goal record on Sunday. Plainedge grad Braden Donnellan (109) tied Bob Engelke’s 1979 single-season points record.

Gibson (three goals, one assist) also caused four turnovers to help Adelphi win the turnover battle, 24-13.

“That’s been a big one for me,” Gibson said. “I got scored on off the ride last time we played them, so that was a big thing to make sure it didn’t happen again.”

The Panthers will get the chance to be the first Division II team to successfully defend its title since Merrimack in 2018 and 2019.

Renner said: “We’re trying to make it the standard.”