There’s a deep connection between Liverpool High School’s lacrosse program and that at Le Moyne College, never better personified than the contributions made by Warriors to the Dolphins’ NCAA Division II men’s lacrosse title in 2013.
In all, five Liverpool graduate were on the team – sophomores Joe Corapi and Devin Clegg, plus freshmen Nick Kline, Kyle DeAngelis and Jeff Conley.
Together, they were part of a Le Moyne team that entered the May 26 NCAA Division II title game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia as an underdog to unbeaten Mercyhurst, but built a big third-quarter lead and then held on from there to win 11-10.
That completed an 18-2 run to the national title, as the Dolphins overcame regular-season defeats to Merrimack (5-3) and Adelphi (10-9). During the NCAA Division II tournament, Le Moyne beat LIU Post 9-8 in the opening round and avenged its Adelphi defeat with a 16-13 semifinal win.
In the final against Mercyhurst, Corapi’s goal capped a 3-0 Dolphins run to close the period that erased an early 2-1 deficit. After the Lakers pulled even, 5-5, by halftime, Le Moyne dominated the third quarter with five unanswered goals, the first of them assisted by Corapi.
When Andrew Chadderdon scored with 12:15 left to make it 11-5, Le Moyne appeared safe. But Mercyhurst made a furious late charge, getting five straight goals to move within one with nearly three minutes play.
And the Lakers had multiple chances in the homestretch to force overtime, seeing at least two game-tying shots clank off the post before the Dolphins could celebrate a national title.
For the season, Corapi had 24 goals, fifth-best on the team, and four assists. DeAngelis saw action in 16 different games, while Kline played in 14 games, earning three goals. Conley saw action in six games and Clegg played in four games.
So this carries over the success this group had at Liverpool, where they went to back-to-back Section III Class A finals and claimed the sectional title in 2012, the team’s first since 1989.
