Adelphi-Molloy, Tampa-Anderson to Duel in Division II Semifinals

And just like that, just four teams remain in Division II men’s lacrosse.

The quarterfinals were all played Wednesday at 4 p.m. Eastern, setting the stage for Sunday’s national semifinals.

A look at who is one step closer to a national championship:

NORTH REGION

The Cinderella run is over. Seventh-seeded Saint Michael’s fell at the ends of third-seeded Molloy 12-7 behind two goals and two assists from Jake Taylor and a hat trick from Brian Green. John Basile made 15 saves.

Molloy burst out to a 4-0 lead and maintained at least a two-goal lead for the entire game. That lead never shrunk to less than four in the second half.

The Lions advance to play two-time defending national champion Adelphi, which had little trouble with Northeast-10 rival Pace in the second half in a 12-5 win.

Up 6-3 at the half, the Adelphi defense locked in for the second half, allowing just two scores. Christian Tomei’s 15-save performance was surely a big part of that — as were the collective efforts necessary to cause 14 turnovers.

In a display of balanced offense, five players scored two goals for the Panthers — Braden Donnellan, Kyle Lewis, Carter Linkletter, Michael Durnin and Vincent McDermott.

SOUTH REGION

Anderson is still dancing.

The seventh-seeded Trojans took down sixth-seeded Lenoir-Rhyne 9-7 by shutting out the Bears in the fourth quarter and scoring the final three goals of the game — the last two of which came from Radyn Badraun, who scored five times.

Lenoir-Rhyne appeared to be on cruise control with a 4-1 first-quarter lead, but Anderson battled back to knot the score at 5 entering halftime.

Aiden Dixon gave Anderson a 6-5 just five seconds into the third quarter, but Lenoir-Rhyne followed with tallies by Donovan Powell and Morgan Madish to flip the one-goal lead to its side.

Following 11 straight scoreless minutes, Jacob Kirchhofer tied it at 7 for Anderson, and then Badraun finished the comeback. The Trojans advance to the semifinals to take on top-seeded Tampa, which beat Lewis 12-9.

Lewis had the Spartans on the ropes early with a 3-1 lead in the first quarter, but Tampa eventually battled back to take a 6-5 lead and maintain its advantage from there.

NCAA DIVISION II
QUARTERFINAL SCORES

North

(1) Adelphi def. (4) Pace 12-5
(3) Molloy def. (7) Saint Michael’s 12-7

South

(1) Tampa def. (4) Lewis 12-9
(7) Anderson def. (6) Lenoir-Rhyne 9-7

NCAA DIVISION II
SEMIFINAL SCHEDULE

Both semifinals scheduled for Sunday, May 17, at 1 p.m. Eastern.

(3) Molloy at (1) Adelphi
(7) Anderson at (1) Tampa