Lakeland, FL - The Adelphi women's lacrosse team made a statement in their 2016 season opener, running past #15 Grand Valley State, 16-6 in the nuetral site contest held in Lakeland, Florida this afternoon. Attackers Rachel O'Brien and Jacqueline Jahelka combined for 14 points in the win, scoring seven goals and adding seven assists between them.

O'Brien led all scorers with a career-high eight points on two goals and a game-high six assists, while Jahelka tallied a game best five goals and chipped in an assist. Three other Panthers picked up multiple points, led by Rachel Aitkens who sent three balls into the back of the Laker net, while Michele Scannell and Kate Beier scored twice each. 

Kelly Osmulski paced the defense with three caused turnovers, while running mates, Ryley Weber, Gianna Gallo and O'Brien caused two each. Weber picked up a team-high five draw controls and Scannell managed to grab two, helping Adelphi win 11 draws on the afternoon. Taylor Hayes was credited with her first win of the season, making three stops on the day, while Hailey Peterson made one save in relief. 

Beier got Adelphi on the board early, needed just 40 seconds to find the back of the Laker goal, thanks to a feed from O'Brien. The Panthers would keep the pressure on, scoring the next six goals of the contest without an answer from Grand Valley State, building a 7-0 lead on the strength of four goals Jahelka during the stretch. The Lakers managed to momentarily stem the tide, scoring back-to-back goals, pulling within five, 7-2 with 7:11 to play in the first.

Jahelka and O'Brien responded for the Brown and Gold with goals of their own, pushing the Panther lead back to seven, 9-2 with 2:52 to play. Adelphi and the Lakers closed out the half by exchanging goals, with O'Brien sending the Panthers into the intermission on a high thanks to her second goal of the game, off a cross field pass from Jill Graziano with just one tick left on the clock, 10-3.

Grand Valley State opened thet second stanza by holding Adelphi scoreless for the first 10 minutes of the action. However, the Lakers could only muster one goal in that time, which came with 24:41 to play. Scannell finally jumpstarted the Brown and Gold offense, scoring back-to-back goals just 20 seconds apart, making it a 12-4 game. that opened the flood gates for the Panthers, as the attacking unit scored four more times, the final tally coming off the stick of Casey Zalewski with 3:45 to go, putting the Panthers on top by 12, 16-4.

The Lakers continued to push, hanging two more on the board in the final minutes, but the Adelphi lead was too much to overcome, sending the Panthers home with a 16-6 victory. 

Top ranked Adelphi returns to action on Monday, February 22 when they travel to Lakeland, Florida for a 7:00 pm meeting with #5 Florida Southern. 

NOTES

• This is the 16th straight year that Adelphi has opened the season with a victory. 
• Adelphi is now 3-0 in nuetral site games played in Florida (2-0 in the 2006 NCAA Final Four)
• Rachel O'Brien tallied her 100th assist in the game and currently has 103.

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About Adelphi University Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009 and in the past six seasons has collected 16 regular season conference titles, 21 tournament championships, 27 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 President's Cup twice (2013 and 2014), while winning five NCAA Division II National Championships.

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