2025 DIV II NCAA MEN'S LACROSSE CHAMPIONSHIP

May 25, 2025

Gordon Purdie

Kyle Lewis

Vincent McDermott

Nick O'Shea

Gillette Stadium

Adelphi Panthers

Media Conference

Adelphi 9, Tampa 8

GORDON PURDIE: It's great to be here. Incredible win. Really proud of Adelphi University, but in that same breath, I really want to shout out for an amazing team, Tampa, that pushed us to the limits. That game could have gone either way, and it's teams like that that just makes practices and this game more fun in that we had to go out and compete every day to be the best we could be. And on any given day, either team could have won, but today was Adelphi University.

Q. Kyle, could you go through the game-winning goal?

KYLE LEWIS: Coach Cat just drew up that play. We had a look behind some cutters, and so if it doesn't come up to you, we're going to sweep up the top and put it in the net. The defender on me is a great defender, hit him with a move, and then sweep across and it happened to work out in our favor.

When I made my initial move, I saw him jolt to the left. So then from there, it was just like, I was in the net and I knew I was going to get my hands free. I knew the goalie usually drops when I drop my hand, so I went low to high. We've worked so hard as a team to get to that moment, and all I did was put the ball in the net, but that doesn't show what everyone in this program has been doing past six months.

Q. When is the last time you had an overtime goal?

KYLE LEWIS: Last time I had an overtime goal? Never, ever, ever.

Q. Career high in goals you tied today; what about today made you elevate your game?

VINCENT McDERMOTT: I think we just had good matchups all over the field, and we knew that -- movement was key, and when we were dodging they couldn't slide, so it just made it easy for me.

Q. Kyle, how does it feel, you scored an overtime game-winning goal in the National Championship. How do you feel?

KYLE LEWIS: Yeah, it was kind of crazy. That's stuff you dream of, going into OT, one shot, and you hit it or you don't. You know, it happened. But like I said, all I have to do is put the ball in the net and this team, this program, these coaches, the staff has been working so hard for that one moment. I'm thankful just to be in that position to get that shot.

Q. You were the beneficiary of hitting the low wing and hitting in the elbow. You spoke about your team moving and opening up that lane for you. Playing against these great goalies, you know you have to have a good lane to pull that shot. You had one of the better shots of the game falling down, hitting the corner. What was going through your mind when that happened?

VINCENT McDERMOTT: I don't know, I was like, just get to the goal and I had my hands free for a little bit, and I just shot it. I didn't even know it was going and it just went in. Just worked out.

Q. Sort of almost scored at the end --

NICK O'SHEA: It was a crazy feeling. We didn't know what happened but we heard the Tampa coach called a time-out. The kid swept across the middle, and we had a slide but it was late, but then when the ball went in, and we realized that the ref was going like this (indicating) which we knew it was no goal and we had to hunker down for the last ten seconds and just play team defense.

We have the best goalie in the nation behind us, so just six guys really working together, the best goalie out there. It's a great time.

Q. There was a period in the off-season where Dylan considered a different opportunity and ultimately comes back. What did that decision, the vibes of the team and how does he make everything go during the course of the season?

NICK O'SHEA: Honestly, that didn't mix up our chemistry at all. We knew Dylan wanted to explore his options just to see where other schools were at with him, and he ultimately decided to come back, which we were so grateful for that to happen, especially for his last year. It was great, a great feeling that he was coming back with us.

Q. You talked about scoring an overtime goal and what it feels like. What does it feel like at the bottom of the pile?

KYLE LEWIS: It's like everything. Obviously, you scored a goal, and then at the bottom of the pile, it's like screaming, get up, get up. I was suffocating. Panic in those positions -- I was like get up, but I was pumped. It was weird. I'm glad we got it done.

Q. Back-to-back champions, first time this century that had program has felt that feeling. So from a player's perspective, how does that feel?

KYLE LEWIS: Well, I mean, in terms of going back-to-back, we didn't really -- that wasn't on our mind. Like last year was over. We had a new goal and we worked for that goal, every single player, for six months. So we try not to look back. It does feel good to do it two times knowing that it's never -- well, it's been done before, but not in a long time. But we're worried about this game, this game only, nothing in the past. Feels good to get it done.

Q. What thoughts stick out the most?

GORDON PURDIE: I'm just so happy for every one of my seniors who have invested so much time, effort into this game to win this game, and to do it for us.

So to win, it's that end of the road, the last game for those seniors who are going to move on in their life. They saw so many of our fans, and so much joy from all the alumni that were cheering us on all game. So while we know that the 49 guys that were on the field won it and the administration were all over, my true joy is to look around and see so many people happy for all of us.

Q. Kyle gave his description of the last play. If you can give yours?

GORDON PURDIE: On that play, so Kyle and I love to do film together, and you know, Coach Cat drew that play up and had a board, two men behind, on shorties, get it to Kyle, and what I saw is exactly how Kyle saw it. You know, he drove and made a little stutter move and as he put that move on, he got a step. And you give Kyle a step, he can take advantage of that. He got his hands free and was able to shoot that shot. I was pretty sure as soon as I saw the step that the defender had, the misstep if you want to call it that, my heart, like, just pumped an extra beat. Because I just said, this is it. He's going to take this shot.

And you want Kyle to take that shot and he's just giving it up, giving it up -- that other players would take -- to yell at him and show him film saying, you need to take shots you need to take. I was hoping he would take it and he did. It's an incredible goal for him.

Q. Obviously your goalie, Dylan, when he's not making saves, he's just one of the most energetic personalities on the field the way he leads his defense. Can you talk about what it's like to have a guy like that as a coach?

GORDON PURDIE: You just mentioned on the field. It's on and off the field. That guy goes 24/7. He is such an energetic person and sees the best in everybody. To have him -- and I said it earlier -- to think that we are were going to lose him, the sleepless nights in the coaches room, talking to each other -- and through the time he went into the portal, it was -- it was like -- (indiscernible) -- if we were going to lose him.

The day he said that's it, I'm coming back, was the day you can breathe and say we can do this again. And that's what those guys alluded to, being able to come back, try to forget about last year and move on. Dylan hoped to see that. Dylan put this game in perspective. Our goal was to get back to a National Championship and put ourselves in a place we could win, and Dylan did that every day. I really had very little endurance time of talking to him ever on the field.

I made the mistake of one time asking him if he's ready. That was last year, maybe the year before, he lost it on me -- I didn't think he was ready. Because Dylan, if you know him, you can sort of feel him, he is that way 24/7, and the program is going to miss that kid, not just for the saves he makes.

Q. You guys are obviously the defending national champion and they came in as the undefeated No. 1 team in the country. Was there any underdog vibe that your guys latched on to coming into the game?

GORDON PURDIE: I think Coach Cat, and he could be one of the most hated guys in lacrosse, or misunderstood guys. I sent him a few things prior to today that just listed everybody choosing Tampa to win this game.

And the coaches -- in the coaches, you know, polls, a couple of weeks in, chose Tampa over us while we were still undefeated last year. Someone brought it to my attention, how come Tampa is ranked No. 1 and we're at two even though we're still undefeated from last year?

Listen, Tampa is an awesome team, and I think the answer is, as you look at that game, either team could have won that. For us, we did use that. That was definitely used in pregame. 20 coaches voted Tampa to be the No. 1 team this year and nobody gave Adelphi a chance. If you look back at history, in history, Adelphi has always been an underdog. When I was there, no one thought we could beat Syracuse and we beat them 19-9.

So, you know, that underdog is something that we drive and love. We love being the underdog. Next year, if they want to give it to another team -- absolutely, we're okay with that.

Q. Can you talk about your emotions when Tampa calls the time-out and looks like the goal counts, just how do you feel in those last moments?

GORDON PURDIE: So as that happened, I saw Dylan coming out of the cage and I said, we're in trouble, no one is backing up the cage. There was not very much time on the clock. He chose to go -- on his own. Dylan was just thinking, please let's just make the save, and then I heard the time-out. When I heard the time-out, I saw the goal go in after that, and at that point, I saw the official wave off the goal. And then I saw a little huddle, which you hate to see with referees, and I almost walked out on the field to make sure -- the clock is stopped, the goal shouldn't have counted.

And at that point, I saw that we had a chance to make that 12-second last-ditch effort to try to stop the next goal, if you want to call it that. Just not a worry, but happiness that we had another chance to win the game. As a follow-up -- to faceoff, and he did a remarkable job in the second half for us, No. 77. He came in and made a change -- and because of a violation, we had to go back to Ries (ph) and the pressure was, what are we going to go with Ries as a pole -- indiscernible -- put enough pressure, 27 threw the check to -- indiscernible -- out-of-bounds, and to run that, I'll never forget.

Q. You now join the likes of Paul Doherty and Sandy Kapatos as multi-time national champions with this Adelphi men's lacrosse program. What does that mean to you?

GORDON PURDIE: So for Paul Doherty, who was my coach back at Adelphi, he basically gave me the chance to come to Adelphi from Australia, who has passed away, his daughters are here. I forever have a place in my heart for him, and I can never be the coach that he was to me; I'll put that out there.

To go out there and try and be who he was to me, is the joy I have in coaching. It really is.

As for Sandy, he called me three times this week. We couldn't seem to connect, and I finally got a hold of him and spent a good hour on the phone with him, and he told me just how much he looks back, and the experiences that he had. We didn't talk about championships or wins, just the quality of people that he got to coach at Adelphi and the support that he got from the administration.

And I shared with him how much nothing's changed. To be in this position is one of the best coaching gigs in the world, and you know I'm very proud to be able to call myself a head coach at Adelphi University.

Q. You shaved your head --

GORDON PURDIE: I walked out of this last year -- the players took my long ponytail off. I just said -- (audio distorting) so history last year happened. We wanted to make this year separate and make this year an opportunity for anybody -- nothing made about shaving their head or anything like that. (Audio distortion).

Exciting time for the whole team last year, and I think, you know, that celebration is going to be cutting my ponytail off. I don't have much hair as it is, but yeah, I might get my head shaved tonight, who knows.

Finishing up, you sort of set goals and you want to achieve those goals, and I spoke of being so happy for the players. But you know, as I was ready to leave, the president Adelphi came over and said, you know, go get 'em coach, you got this, and gave us so much confidence. I happened to see a little post getting ready in the northeast tent, putting out "Ten Championships" for our conference.

I feel like just another coach to be part of a great organization. But this is just a fantastic gig I do have. We happened to win today. And I know the Tampa players, it's a tough one to swallow until they get back out on the field.

To me, I said it to my wife, just so happy to be an Adelphi participant and a member of the Adelphi lacrosse team, and whatever title they want to give me, to be a part of this program is just truly amazing. I'm just, every day, having had -- (indiscernible) -- during the year, that was a tough time. Two weeks away from the players, and you know, life was boring, it really was. This is what I live for, it really is, the opportunity to coach these guys and mentor them.

I'm thrilled to be a part of another winning team and winning program. I'm sure that these guys are already talking about three-peating, whatever that means. Every one of those guys you saw on the field today has eligibility to come back, so we're real excited about where Adelphi lacrosse is moving forward. We have some great recruits coming in, and as you guys all know, Northeast Ten is a powerhouse, so we have to be ready to lock and load.