Just two teams remain in the DII men’s lacrosse national championship. Defending national champion Lenoir-Rhyne looks to go back-to-back, while Adelphi — the winningest DII program in DII men’s lacrosse championship history — looks to bring home title No. 8 to its trophy case.
Here’s what you need to know about the big game.
DII men's lacrosse central: Complete schedule and scores from every round | Bracket
The DII men's lacrosse championship game: How to watch
Lenoir-Rhyne and Adelphi play on Sunday, May 26, from Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia. You can watch all the action right here on krikya18.com at 4 p.m. ET.
Lenoir-Rhyne vs. Adelphi: By the numbers
| Stat (per game unless noted) | Lenoir-Rhyne | Adelphi |
|---|---|---|
| Season record | 17-1 | 16-2 |
| Goals scored | 14.7 | 14.1 |
| Goals allowed | 7.6 | 7.6 |
| Assists | 8.4 | 8.6 |
| Shot percentage | .315 | .329 |
| Caused turnovers per game | 10.1 | 11.1 |
Statistically speaking, there isn’t much that separates these two teams. Both the Bears and the Panthers are top 3 in DII for scoring defense and with similar offensive firepower, they both are top 10 in scoring margin as well.
Lenoir-Rhyne is cruising, winners of its last 11 in a row. But the Bears’ road to Philadelphia was not an easy one. Both victories in the SAC conference tournament were nail-biters, decided by one goal apiece, while both NCAA tournament games needed strong fourth quarters to survive and advance — one was a one-goal victory and the other by just two.
Donovan Powell has been cooking — the sophomore attack has a seven-game goal streak going, with five of those seven games coming in the multi-goal variety. Powell is one of 11 Bears to have scored double-digit goals this year, so there are a lot of scorers for Adelphi to focus in on. In goal, Rob Pensabene has been one of the best in DII all season long and his .591 save percentage is a top-5 mark in the division.
Adelphi has the most championships in DII men’s lacrosse history, but hasn’t won one in more than 20 years, last defeating Limestone in 2001 for its seventh title. Unlike Lenoir-Rhyne, Adelphi had more breathing room on its tournament run, defeating Pace by five and Saint Anselm by three. Eamon Hall and Logan Tucker lead this offense, both scoring more than 40 goals on the season. Tucker has a six-game goal streak going including three hat tricks, while Hall had a string of three-straight four-goal games snapped in the big victory over Pace. Goalkeeper Dylan Renner has been one of — if not the — best in the division this year — his .650 save percentage is tops in DII.
DII men’s lacrosse championship game prediction
This is as evenly matched as it is going to get. Looking at it where it will lay in the annals of DII men's lacrosse is also a terrific storyline: No team has won more than Adelphi in the history of the sport, while Lenoir-Rhyne is looking to cement itself as the current dynasty, adding a second championship to last year’s title as well as that 2021 national runners-up campaign.
We haven’t had many close championship games of late — Lenoir-Rhyne won by 15 goals last year, for example. The last five championships have been rather lopsided, and the last six have all seen the winning team reach double-digit goals. Both of these teams have played 18 games, and both missed double-digit goals just twice this season, so we know both are capable of exploding on offense.
One of those times these two didn’t score big was against each other. Adelphi fell to the Bears 7-3 way back on Feb. 24 in just the third meeting all time between these two. The last time we had a low-scoring affair in the DII men’s lacrosse championship was way back in 2016 when Le Moyne beat Limestone 8-4. I think we see that happen this year in a thriller down to the wire.
Prediction: Lenoir-Rhyne 8, Adelphi 6
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