By: Maxmillian Robinson
April showers have started to appear, but don’t worry, spring sports are here. The Adelphi University Board of Trustees decided that it was okay for sports to return this semester, following safety precautions given by the state. And one team, in particular, has shown its dominance early on. The men's lacrosse team has been a near perfect, totaling four wins and one loss, through five games this season. Despite the world experiencing a tumultuous time, these Panthers continue to claw towards constant victory.
“It has been a unique time in college athletics,” said coach Gordon Purdie. “Student athletes were given the opportunity to use the year of eligibility lost as a result of the cancellation of the lacrosse season last spring. As many of our seniors and fifth-year seniors decided to return. We have almost all of our team returning to play together for another season. This team has more experience together than almost any team in the NCAA. Having that chemistry playing together for the last six years has bonded this team and that is the major reason for the team's success.”
Graduate player Gordon Purdie Jr. added, “Our team chemistry is our strength, we have been playing together for years and have confidence in each other.”
Like father, like son, both parties are in agreement with each other about striving ahead. Their leadership has spread to the younger players as well.
“Momentum is something that comes with playing well throughout the season, and not just in games but in practices every day,” said first-year Eamon Hall. “I think that if we just keep working hard each and every day, we’ll be able to keep up this momentum throughout the rest of the season and into the future.”
While there has been much success so far, the lingering effects of this pandemic have brought the team back to reality of the times we currently live in. Five games have been played, yet three have been either postponed or rescheduled to a later date.
“This has been a difficult year with many disruptions as a result of Covid-19,” coach Purdie said. “It is my hope that we can continue to trust the process and enjoy each opportunity to play and compete.”
Already having last season canceled, there is urgency to finish this season and compete for a championship.
“We hope that we have put the restrictions and complications of Covid behind us and with more consistent practices we will continue to get better each day,” Purdie Jr. said. “The opportunity to play and compete each day is exciting and feels like a gift to us.”
But the hopes remain the same for all the players and staff. No Covid, no problems moving forward.
“I feel like having to deal with the Covid problems and everything that we have gone through is that the team has really brought us together,” Hall said. “ Also a lot of players have played with each other in the past and having those relationships I think is the reason why we have found success so early in the season.”
This team will strive to change the game and the way of Adelphi lacrosse forever. Covid, stay away.