The Adelphi women’s lacrosse team continued with the strong defensive play that was its hallmark throughout the 2006 campaign, but the Panthers added a flurry of offense to win the Division II Women’s Lacrosse Championship May 14 in Lisle, Illinois.

The Panthers defeated West Chester, 16-8, in a rematch of the 2004 NCAA championship, a game Adelphi also won. It was the third consecutive runner-up finish for West Chester. The Golden Rams last won the title in 2002.

Adelphi built its 16-1 record with strong defensive play but became a scoring powerhouse in the championship game. The Panthers compiled several scoring runs, including a 6-0 spurt to end the first half and begin the second.

Junior attacker Lauren Lopez said her team stepped up on both sides of the field.

“All season we mostly relied on our defense. Today, we just wanted the ball to be on the offensive side most of the time,” Lopez said. “We were very choosy with our shots, and that’s what got us five goals right away. I think we actually worked the ball around better today than we ever had.”

Lopez led the Panthers in scoring with five goals. Her twin sister Diana added a hat trick. Teammate Dawn Anselmin scored four times. Diana Lopez said the team was motivated to win against a highly skilled opponent.

“We talked last night and this morning about how capable West Chester is of winning a national championship. We said that everything has to work from end to end,” she said. “We knew we could be successful, it was just a matter of doing it, and we did just that.”

In its decisive victory, Adelphi managed to contain the all-time Division II career points leader, West Chester’s Katelyn Martin. Martin scored three goals in the championship to end her career with 365 points.

Adelphi coach Jill Lessne-Solomon said she matched one of her top defenders against Martin and told her “do or die.”

“I asked one of my seniors to lay it all on the line for a national championship,” she said. “I noticed yesterday scouting West Chester that everything kind of flowed through Katelyn, and I knew we needed to stop that flow.  I think we did a good job.”

West Chester ended the season 18-3.

Martin and teammate Maureen Clifton were named to the all-tournament team, along with Adelphi’s Anselmin, Diana Lopez, Lauren Lopez, Allyson Murphy, Mary Cannata and most outstanding player Meghan Blume. Lauryn Wise and Summer Ferraro from Limestone and C.W. Post’s Mallory Poole and Shannon Fabian completed the team.

Semifinals

Adelphi      6      3 — 9

C.W. Post  5      3 — 8

Adelphi scoring: Meghan Blume 3, Lauren Lopez 3, Rachel Ray 1, Tara Grodotzke 1, Dawn Anselmin 1.

C.W. Post scoring: Shannon Fabian 2, Jaclyn Napoli 2, Elaine Williams 2, Mallory Poole 1, Jenna Miller 1.

Shots: Adelphi 30, C.W. Post 23. Goalkeeper saves: Adelphi (Allyson Murphy) 9; C.W. Post (Lauren Scipione) 10.

West Chester     7      3 — 10

Limestone  6      2  — 8

West Chester scoring: Katelyn Martin 4, Christine Kane 3, Stephanie Kienle 2, Mandy Masoner 1.

Limestone scoring: Summer Ferraro 4, Kelly Lickert 1, Marissa Pesce 1, Kristen Black 1, Lauryn Wise 1.

Shots: West Chester 19, Limestone 19. Goalkeeper saves: West Chester (Chelsea Marshall) 11, Limestone (Jackie Weaver) 9.

Championship game

Adelphi      10     6 — 16

West Chester     3      5 —  8

Adelphi scoring: Lauren Lopez 5, Dawn Anselmin 4, Diana Lopez 3, Tara Grodotzke 2, Meghan Blume 1, Rachel Ray 1.

West Chester scoring: Katelyn Martin 3, Stephanie Kienle 2, Christine Kane 2, Mandy Masoner 1.

Shots: Adelphi 28, West Chester 33. Goalkeeper saves: Adelphi (Allyson Murphy) 10, West Chester (Chelsea Marshall) 9.