In a something had to give game, two winning streaks were on the line.
Kevin M. Neibauer.
LaxPhilly– A Division of the Edge of Philly Sports Network.
In DII action in Garden City, NY, #5 Mercy University Mavericks (10-1) took on the the Adelphi Panthers (10-1) and holding the #4 ranking.
Adelphi was on a ten game streak with Mercy on a six game run
A 7 goal run with a shut out second quarter sent the Gordon Purdie Coached Adelphi Panthers to a 10-6 defeat
How it Happened…
A low scoring opening quarter saw the Panthers draw first blood with 9:55 to play when Kyle Steinbach (3g,1a) lit the lamp for his 22nd.
They would not hit net for 26:04 while Mercy chipped away. Sophomore, Andrew Calabria (1g) hit for his 12th.
Brady Kearnan (2a) assisted on the 31st from Dominic Scorcia (1g, 2a) that ended the first stanza with the 2-1 Mercy lead.
Second..
Mercy seized control with a 5-0 second.
Jack Gibbons (2g), Damiano Ferrera (1g) bagged his second of the season at 10:26.
It then became the Matt Eccles (1g,2a) show when he put home a Sean Makar feed then assisted on markers from Makar (1g,1a) with :40 remaining and another with :12 from TJ Heyder (3g,1a) that ended the lopsided first half, 7-1.
Will They Score?
Adelphi did, in fact score. Their second goal in 31:09 furnished from Angelo Caiazzo (1g) with 1:09 played, cut it to a five goal difference at 7-2.
Heyder answered with his 12th off a Scorcia feed just :39 later to get the lead back to six.
Steinbach and Gibbons exchanged goals to end the third, 9-3.
Time Running Out..
Heyder notched his 18th with the Panthers finally having a rally with Steinbach, and Eamon Hall (1g) on the man advantage and closing the book on goals, Joseph Duchnowski (1g.) Making it 10-6.
Things:
• Shots favored Mercy, 37-29 as well as Shots on Goal, 22-15.
• Turnovers had Adelphi with 21 and Mercy turning it over 19 times
• Ground Balls found Mercy with a 35-29 edge while Face-offs were 10-10.
• Extra Man had Mercy 0-1 while the Panthers actually went 2 for 5.
• Tommy Umano turned aside 9 Panthers shots while Dylan Renner had 12 saves for Adelphi.
• The contest marks the first home loss for Adelphi since May 4, 2019 against LeMoyne.
Heavyweight Battle in DII
Kevin has followed and promoted the game of lacrosse since May 19, 1974.
The same day the Philadelphia Flyers won the Cup, the Philadelphia Wings were introduced to Neibauer and Philadelphia.
Kevin has covered many sports, including baseball, football, basketball, and.. lacrosse. A former licensed football referee and baseball umpire, Kevin brings a unique insight to his game coverage.
A published writer in JustHockey Magazine, Kevin covered the American Hockey League as well as a monthly story on a pugilist where Kevin used the pen name, The Rink Rat. Neibauer turned his attentions to lacrosse for a few years and does his part, whether podcasting or writing to grow the game. Kevin branched out to his roots and currently provides insight for all Philadelphia teams for Edge of Philly as well as his full-time duties with LaxPhilly.
