Garden City, N.Y. -- With 70 minutes not enough to decide matters between two Top 10 teams, senior Lena Pollich delivered the game-winning goal for the Adelphi University field hockey team in an overtime upset of the top team in the country, LIU Post, 2-1 on Motamed Field on Wednesday night. 

The Panthers (7-3, 4-1 NE-10), who returned to the national Top 10 this week at No. 10, claimed their fourth straight win, while the Pioneers (8-1, 4-1 NE-10) came into the contest undefeated and the No. 1 team in the NFHCA Division II national rankings.

In a tight contest from the opening whistle, the two teams were evenly matched from the start. LIU Post was awarded the first penalty corner of the game just over five minutes into the contest, but the first test of the night for the Brown and Gold came over 20 minutes into the opening half. Over the course of the next three minutes of action, LIU Post totaled four shots, the first of the game for either side and the Pioneers' total for the half, but Amanda Gargiulo made a pair of stops in the Adelphi net and the other two went wide.

The game looked like it would go into halftime scoreless, until the Panthers were awarded their final penalty corner of the half as time expired. Pollich set the play, and Elissa Frein fired the ball towards the cage from the top of the circle to meet the stick of Emily Power, who tipped it past Ericka Parks in the LIU Post net.

Adelphi's 1-0 edge stood for much of the second half, as the Brown and Gold defense withstood a Pioneer attack that gained more momentum as the second period went on. While Gargiulo made a pair of saves, LIU Post broke through in the 64th minute; the Pioneers' leading scorer, Emily Miller, found herself in the right spot in front of the goal, as Gargiulo had vacated the space in an attempt to cut off the ball, leading to Miller tapping it home for the equalizer. 

Miller and Gargiulo met head-to-head twice more in the final three minutes at the end of regulation, with the first shot from the Pioneer forward hitting the post and the second being kicked out by the junior Adelphi keeper. 

Eight minutes of the overtime period went by before the Pioneers were awarded a crucial penalty stroke, setting up Arantxa Rosainz Caloca for a one-on-one chance against Gargiulo to win the game. However, another plot twist was in store as Gargiulo guessed right, making the move to her right to dive and save the shot attempt in between the post. Buoyed by Gargiulo's key stop, the Panthers responded with a run down the field and after a whistle, Pollich took matters into her own hands from the top of the circle, connecting on her fifth goal of the season on just her second shot of the game to send the Panthers home with the victory.

Adelphi returns to action on Saturday, Oct. 8, traveling up to Saint Anselm College for a 1 pm NE-10 contest.

NOTES
- The Panthers have now won two straight against the Pioneers dating back to 2015, having not won in the head-to-head matchup since 2009.
- Adelphi is in the midst of three straight games against nationally-ranked opponents, having defeated #9 American International on Oct. 1. Saint Anselm was ranked No. 7 in the most recent national poll.

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About Adelphi Athletics:
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past seven seasons, has collected 18 regular season conference titles, 22 tournament championships, 29 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup three times (2013, 2014, and 2016), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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