"Things go your way when you work really hard," said Panthers coach Sandy Kapotos, whose team won its third championship in the last four years. "We contested every 50-50 ball."

Most outstanding player Mike McInerney scored an unassisted goal with 17 seconds left in the first half to give Adelphi a 7-6 lead, igniting a 6-1 run that gave the Panthers a 12-7 edge with 14:38 left in the game. After that, the Saints got no closer than the final margin in front of a Division II-record paid attendance of 2,180. The previous largest crowd was 2,019 last year at Maryland.

During its run, Adelphi showed its balance. McInerney ended up with two goals during the span but other than that, Dan Kraemer, Tom Bruckbauer, Brian Tower and Rich Dommer had one each.

"There were no adjustments made in the second half," said Kapatos, who quietly has won four championships, a total that trails only Princeton's Bill Tierney (six), former Syracuse coach Roy Simmons Jr. (five) and Georgetown coach Dave Urick, who won 10 straight Division III titles with Hobart. "Limestone is a very strong offensive team. We didn't give them too many chances when the ball hit the ground."

Every time Adelphi started a comeback, Adelphi goalie Brian Soper (15 saves) was there to squelch it, even when seemingly out of position. One time Soper had left the cage to help clear the ball and the Panthers lost possession. Limestone took a shot at the open goal from beyond the center line but a sprinting Soper caught it over his shoulder while sprinting back to his position.

"I went out to give help," Soper said. "I pretty much scrambled to get back into the net. He shot a little further out than I thought he would and I got a good read on it."

First-year Limestone coach Bill Milone, who was an assistant on last year's champion Saints team, lauded Adelphi's play and noted his team's poor passing.

"We were sloppy. I think we had three straight possessions where we threw it away in the third quarter and there's no excuse for that."

Dommer led both teams with five goals. McInerney finished with two goals and five assists. Tower had three goals and one assist.

Adelphi finished the year 12-2, losing to Division III teams Salisbury State and Nazareth. Limestone ended the season 13-3, losing to Division III squads Washington (Maryland) and Washington and Lee.

Semifinals

Adelphi 16, C.W. Post 8; Limestone 20, Wingate 2.

Championship

Adelphi scoring: Rich Dommer 5, Brian Tower 3, Mike McInerney 2, Dan Kraemer 1, Tom Bruckbauer 1, David Toy 1, Kim Delfs 1.

Limestone scoring: Chris Campbell 3, Nick Carlson 2, Devan Spilker 2, John Riley 1, Ryan Ross 1, Chris Magnum 1.

Shots: Adelphi 43, Limestone 43. Saves: Adelphi -- Brian Soper 15; Limestone -- Matt Malloy 14. Attendance: 2,180.