Garden City, N.Y. - The second-seeded Adelphi University women's lacrosse team was upset in stunning fashion in the Northeast-10 tournament quarterfinals on Wednesday afternoon.

After trailing at halftime but taking the lead with under 10 minutes to play in regulation, the Panthers saw the seventh-seeded Merrimack College Warriors score the final three goals for a 16-14 victory.

The loss for Adelphi (15-3) is its first prior to the championship game in its 10-season history in the NE10.

The Panthers had previously reached the final in the conference tournament in every season since joining the league in 2010, with seven victories.

Adelphi led 4-1 early in the game, scoring four straight goals after Merrimack's Amber Feminella was the first from either team to find the back of the cage after just 46 seconds.

Out of an ensuing Merrimack (9-8) timeout with 17:19 on the clock, the Panthers were outscored by the visitors 6-2 until halftime, and found themselves trailing at the break for the third time this season.

It seemed as though the Panthers were set to pull off a second-half comeback, however, thanks in part to a spark from senior Chelsea Abreu.

The midfielder notched all five of her goals, a career-high, and six of her lifetime-best seven points, in the second half to spark the second-ranked team in the country to a rally.

She scored the first goal of the second half just 28 seconds in to tie things up at 7-7, as the two teams continued to trade goals from then on - with Adelphi having an answer to every Merrimack tally.

The Warriors put in back-to-back goals, from Feminella and Cailin Bahret, to take a two-goal lead at 12-10, and continued to lead by a pair with 17:34 on the clock when Haley Bartlett found mesh to make it 13-11.

Adelphi would score three straight to wrestle the lead back, with Abreu scoring twice and Christina Ferrara accounting for the other, but could not hold off a surging Merrimack and its two stars down the stretch.

Feminella and Bartlett combined to score 11 of the Warriors' goals, while visiting keeper Lauren Trepaney made 15 saves.

Emma Lemanski gave way to Emily Perry in the second half for Adelphi in the cage, but the duo managed just two saves on 27 shots faced in the game.

The Panthers now await their fate to learn if they are to receive an at-large bid to the NCAA Championships for the 12th straight year this coming Sunday. The selection show can be viewed live at NCAA.com at 8:30 p.m.

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About Adelphi Athletics
A regionally and nationally competitive NCAA Division II institution located in Garden City, N.Y., Adelphi University has been a proud member of the Northeast-10 Conference since 2009.

Winners of 16 NCAA Division II National Championships and four NE10 Presidents' Cups, Panther athletes have excelled at the conference, regional and national level, both on the field of play and in the classroom. In turn, the Adelphi athletic department is committed to fostering an environment of diversity, inclusion, equity and success where its student-athletes can thrive both on campus and off.

Stay connected with Adelphi Athletics by following the Panthers at aupanthers.com or via social media on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram and wear your Panther pride by shopping official Adelphi Panthers gear at our licensed team store.