North Andover, Mass. - Despite a tied contest with eight minutes remaining in the first half, the Adelphi University women's lacrosse team pushed ahead and held on for a 16-10 Northeast 10 Conference win against Merrimack College Saturday afternoon.
Leading the game in points was
Alison Johnson, who put up eight points behind four goals and four assists in the win. She was closely followed by
Kole Pollock who completed the contest with five points as rookie
Emma Lemanski earned her first collegiate win in between the posts for the Panthers, collecting a career-high nine saves.
Adelphi (3-1, 2-0 NE10) fell behind in the early going but
Michele Scannell netted an equalizer at 23:51- the senior finished with two points and eight draw controls. The teams traded goals with Merrimack (3-2, 1-1 NE10) going up at 3-2, but
Lena Riportella rattled off two consecutive goals to regain the lead for the Panthers. She added her third of the game nearly six minutes later, but with just under 10 to play, the teams were once again deadlocked at 5-5.
A quick goalie change put Lemanski between the pipes and a couple of Warrior turnovers and saves from the rookie allowed the Brown and Gold to score the next three to hold an 8-5 advantage at the half. The last three goals of the period came from
Christina Ferrara,
Kole Pollock, and
Allison Schneider.
Coming out of the break, leading goal scorer for Merrimack Amber Feminella notched her second of the game but Johnson kept the hosts at bay with another tally of her own, sparking a three-goal spurt for the Panthers.
A 4-1 run for Adelphi was capped with a Pollock goal at 3:01, pushing the Warrior deficit to six. The hosts put one more goal past Lemanski in a man-up possession, but the visitors added one more of their own in a similar situation with under 30 seconds remaining in regulation to keep Merrimack trailing by six as time came to a close.
Defensively, Ferrara,
Allison Stackpole, and
Kailey Broderick all registered a caused turnover in the victory.
The program is back in action on Wednesday, March 14 when they host Franklin Pierce University at 1:00 p.m. on Motamed Field.
About Adelphi Athletics
Adelphi University joined the Northeast-10 Conference in the fall of 2009, and in the past eight seasons, has collected 25 regular season conference titles, 26 tournament championships, 33 individual crowns and captured the Northeast-10 Presidents' Cup four times (2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017), while winning six NCAA Division II National Championships.
For the latest on Adelphi University Athletics, follow the Panthers at www.aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, and Snapchat.
