The Adelphi women’s lacrosse team, the reigning NCAA Division II national champion, won’t get the chance to defend its crown. At least not right away.

The COVID-19 pandemic will prevent the Panthers’ seven seniors from chasing another national championship, which would have been their third in four years. But there could be hope for another shot in 2021.

“We want them all back, and we’re working to make that possible for them,” Adelphi head coach Pat McCabe said. “We have expressed to each of them, individually and collectively, that we want them back. Everyone has a different personal situation, so we’re going to work through those factors and see if it is in each of their best interests to come back.”

This extends beyond all-time program greats Kole Pollock and Alison Johnson. McCabe rattled off the names of each of his seniors — Pollock, Johnson, Alyssa Gillespie, Lena Riportella, Paige Lewis, Kerry Ann Flavin and Maggie Delli Pizzi — before concluding with a short pause.

“Did I forget anybody?” he asked.

He didn’t.

And how could he? This senior class has helped continue Adelphi’s tradition of Division II dominance and made a lasting impression on its coach.

“We want this whole group back because they’ve been really important,” McCabe said. “We want them to finish what they started.”

None of the seven have yet to announce their plans for 2021. Adelphi’s renowned nursing program could lead some players to employment after graduation, though others could return and enroll in Adelphi’s graduate school.

The whole situation is filled with unknowns, and McCabe recognizes them. But he also understands that his team is hardly the only one suffering from uncertainty.

“We’re going to be faced with new challenges in budgeting,” McCabe said. “We’re going to be faced with challenges with roster size because we do have an incoming freshman class that we like a lot.

“In the short term, we’ve got significant challenges from a financial point of view, from a chemistry and roster size point of view … but everybody does.”

McCabe said he envisions carrying a roster of “36, or somewhere in that neighborhood,” compared to the typical roster of 30 he’s carried in his six years with the program.

He hasn’t spoken with his incoming freshmen yet, many of them Long Island natives who just had their senior high school seasons officially canceled. By the time they get to Adelphi and begin practicing in September — assuming that’s viable, McCabe said — it’ll be nearly a year-and-a-half since they last played competitively.

What could ease their transition, though, is the return of the senior class. And they’ll be as motivated as ever.

“For our seniors, who are leaders as it is, another year just gives them a little more perspective into how precious this is,” McCabe said. “Going through this should give them a different look. We always talk about valuing every day because it’s the only one you get, and this brings that home even more clearly.”

A “sense of appreciation” will likely be the prevailing story for all spring athletes across the country next season. If you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone, then these players should have a better understanding of that now.

When it comes to defending that national championship, McCabe said Adelphi almost always has a target on its back given the program’s sustained success.

But yes, in his eyes, Adelphi will be fighting to keep its crown.

“It’ll certainly be a restart, but a restart to what is the question,” McCabe said. “Just a restart to having our team together and being grateful for that? I think that’s going to be part of it.

“If you look in the record book, there is no 2020 national champion. So, in that case, we are the defending national champions.”