Adelphi doesn't have a football team.
Its basketball and baseball teams are only NCAA Division II.
But soccer is big--really big.
Sunday at 1 p.m., the New York Region Champion Panthers will meet Harvard (13-0-3 overall. 6-0-1 Ivy League) in the NCAA quarterfinals at Ohiri Field.
Adelphi (14-3-2 overall) has only been a Division I soccer program since 1976. In that year, the Panthers made their first trip to the NCAA playoffs, losing in the first round. Two years later, Adelphi received another tourney bid--only to lose in the same round to the same team.
It's nine years later and the Panthers are back, and riding high on their first-ever playoff victory--a 1-0 overtime triumph over Hartwick last Sunday. Adelphi is ranked first in is heading into Sunday's contest with a nine-game winning streak.
It looks like this Long Island school finally has a fall sport to cheer about.
But the fourth-ranked Crimson has emerged from an upset-marked NCAA second round as the tourney favorite. The nation's top three teams--Indiana, Virginia and SMU--all fell in last weekend's action, as did fifth-ranked South Carolina. Harvard, the only undefeated Division I team in the nation, cannot meet another top 10 team until the semifinal round.
"It looks good for us," Harvard Coach Mike Getman said, "but all the teams left have beaten top-ranked opponents. There are no flukes."
But Harvard has another edge over the Panthers--home field advantage. Maximum-width Ohiri Field will be most accommodating to the Crimson's style of play.
"Adelphi is a talented team all around," Getman said. "If they're weak anywhere, they're a little slow outside. It'll make for an interesting combination, because we're quick outside."
The Crimson has become known for its speed, particularly quickness in the outer edges of the midfield. Senior Nick Hotchkin, a first-team All-Ivy midfielder, routinely outruns his opponents up the left field line. Hotchkin set up the game-winner in the NCAA contest at Connecticut by outracing two Huskie defenders to the left corner. His cross pass to Dave Kramer for an overtime goal gave the Crimson a 1-0 triumph.
Junior Ramy Rajballie--Hotchkin's mirror at right midfield--has also proven to be a lethal member of the Crimson attack. Rajballie earned second-team All-Ivy honors in the midfield, and is tied with Hotchkin as team assist leader with six.
In the scoring category, sophomore forward David Kramer is the runaway leader for the Crimson. Kramer's 11 goals and two assists (24 points) put him 11 points ahead of the second-place pack.
Kramer's classmates Nick D'Onofrio, Derek Mills and Paul Baverstock remain locked in a threeway second-place tie with 13 points.
Adelphi is led by forward Duane Robinson, who has 11 goals and six assists for 18 points. Robinson, who has played for the U.S. national team, is the offensive star on a defensively-oriented contingent.
Panther goalie Rich Mattson has recorded a 1.21 goals-against-average and five shutouts, and back Paul Tetlow was touted as an All-America candidate last season.
In net for the Crimson will be All-Ivy goaltender Stephen Hall, a junior who has been flawless in Harvard's last two performances. Hall sports an 84-9 save percentage and six shutouts.
The two teams have never met, but Harvard and Adelphi have faced four common opponents during the season--UConn, Hartwick, Cornell and Columbia--and the results have been almost identical.
The Crimson beat the New York Ivies, tied the 'Wick and both tied and beat UConn. The Panthers also battled to a deadlock with the Huskies, but suffered one of its three losses on the Big Red's astroturf. Adelphi shut out Hartwick (twice) and Columbia.
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