Garden City, N.Y. - The Adelphi University field hockey program hosted Saint Michael's College in its final conference home game and celebrated senior day on Saturday afternoon at Motamed Field. The game concluded in favor of the Panthers by a 6-3 decision, and Adelphi improved to 12-3 overall and 7-2 in league play. The visitors dropped to 8-8 on the season and 4-5 in the conference as both squads head into the final week of regular season play. 

Mary Plotas grabbed her second hat trick of the week, scoring half the goals for the Brown and Gold. Molly Cuevas chipped in two goals of her own while Samantha Nizich was responsible for the final goal. The home team had a 30-6 shot advantage over the visitors, as the defense held the Purple Knights to just five shots on goal. 

Less than seven minutes into the first half, Nizich scored her third goal of the season from the left corner of the cage. Teammates Plotas and Cuevas matched up for the second goal of the game after the team controlled the ball in the Purple Knight end of the field for majority of the half. Right before the horn blew, Adelphi was granted a penalty corner which Cuevas took advantage of as she shot through a sea of defenders to take a 3-0 lead at halftime.

Plotas struck two more times for the Panthers, giving her 20 for the season before Saint Michael's got on the board. Within 10 minutes, the visiting team found three opportunities to throw it past AU goalkeeper Amanda Gargiulo, who had two saves in the victory. The final goal came once again from an unassisted Cuevas who smacked a resounding shot past Saint Michael's goalie Sarah Healey, who picked up 11 saves in the loss. 

"These past two games were important for us as we head into our final week of regular season play," said head coach Gloria O'Connor. "It's imperative that we stay focused and just take it one game at time."

The Panthers will return to conference action on Wednesday, November 12 as they travel to Assumption College to take on the Greyhounds at 7 p.m.