Manchester, N.H. - After two second-half goals from the Hawks, the Adelphi University field hockey team fell in its NE10 semifinal contest at Saint Anselm College earlier Friday evening, by a final score of 3-1.

With the atmosphere apparent, it didn't take long for this one to really get going. Off a saved shot from Emiline Biggin just 3:30 into the contest, Jillian Riche found the loose ball and put the Panthers ahead, 1-0. Despite four shots from the hosts in the final five minutes of the period, the Brown and Gold led after the first quarter. 

Drama certainly heightened early into the next frame. After a shot from the Hawks went off the post, Amanda Lewandowski tapped back the rebound to Marissa Politano to knot the score up at 1-all. While that was the only shot the opponents got off for the rest of the quarter, Adelphi could also only find one of its own. Heading into the break, the score remained tied. 

Coming out of the half, Saint Anselm applied nothing but pressure. Following a scrum where goaltender Fiona Mannion blocked all three shots on goal, the hosts were unable to break through.

Granted another penalty corner, a similar sequence of events, this time Mannion got her hands on two shots. With another one being granted shortly afterwards, Mannion saved another three shots in the span of a minute. At the end of all of this, the senior had impeded eight shots on goal in the span of just under six minutes of play.

With all of these efforts, the Hawks refused to let up. Directly following Mannion's eighth save, Chloe Kapsambelis fired one from the top of the scoring circle that took an odd bounce, finding its way to the back of the cage and giving Saint Anselm its first lead of the day. Unable to find much time in their offensive zone, the Panthers were held without a shot the entire third quarter.

Struggles continued entering the final 15 minutes, with the Hawks still holding an advantage of two penalty corners to none with six minutes to play. Off another one with under three, Maggie Burchill finally found some space, giving the home team some needed insurance. The 'Cats emptied their cage with around two minutes left, but were still unable to tally a shot, ending the showdown.

Head Coach Jess Mulhern and the Panthers wrap up the 2023 campaign with a final record of 10-9 (8-5 NE10). Stay tuned to AUPanthers.com for more updates regarding the Adelphi field hockey team.