NO. 5 ADELPHI VS. NO. 3 MERCYHURST
NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse National Championship
Sunday, May 29 - M&T Bank Stadium
Baltimore, Md.

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BALTIMORE - The third-ranked Mercyhurst College men's lacrosse team faces the No. 5 Adelphi Panthers, champions of the Northeast-10 Conference, for the 2011 NCAA Division II Men's Lacrosse National Title on Sunday, May 29, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md.

Playing in their second national championship game in program history, the Lakers advanced to the final after defeating top-ranked and two-time defending champion C.W. Post, 14-4, last weekend in Brookville, N.Y. The Panthers, on the other hand, stunned second-ranked Limestone by a score of 14-11 in Gaffney, S.C., to earn the right to play for their eighth title in program history.

Both teams will renew an old rivalry when they meet for a 4 p.m. tilt at the home stadium of the National Football League's Baltimore Ravens. Between 2005 and 2009, the Lakers played the Panthers on a regular basis in conference play until they left the East Coast Conference for the NE-10 at the end of the 2008-09 academic year. In five meetings, the Lakers took the first two by a combined five goals before rolling to six-plus goal victories in the final three, highlighted by a 17-10 decision in the final game played between the two schools in 2009 to give the Lakers a 5-0 grasp on the all-time series.

Facing the Panthers for the first time in three years, most of the 2011 Lakers will have to get accustomed to facing an unknown opponent with the exception of a few seniors and juniors. Last time the two teams met, senior Cameron McLean bolstered the offense with a team-high four goals. Junior Gregory Bensman, the team's lone first team All-American this season, found the back of the net twice and totaled three points, and junior Ian Wild scored once and assisted on another.

Just like that meeting, the Lakers will look for offense from a mix of underclassmen and veterans on Sunday. Leading the team in points, sophomore Brian Scheetz has scored 20 goals and dished out 30 assists for 50 through 15 games thus far. Junior Kyle Kallay boasts a team-high 33 goals and places second overall with 43 points, while senior Kevin Coholan
improved his season point total to 32 (26-6) after netting four goals in the Lakers' 14-4 romp of the Pioneers last weekend. Senior Andy Winslow ranks fourth on the team in scoring with 17 goals and 30 points, giving the Lakers four 30-plus point scorers.

Defensively, the Lakers have held opponents to single-digit goal totals all season thanks to the play of Bensman, senior Matt Scherer, sophomore Peter Plaskey and freshman Andrew Wagner. Bensman set the program's single-season caused turnover mark this year with 27. He also has a team-high 50 ground balls to go with a goal and three points. Scherer ranks second on the team in caused turnovers with 16, followed by Wagner with seven and Plaskey with four.

Thanks to them, senior Zach Nash has cruised in goal, accumulating a 13-2 record, a 5.88 goals against average and a .571 save percentage.