Pleasantville, N.Y. - In what proved to be a storybook ending to a Division II rivalry, Adelphi University women's lacrosse defeated Le Moyne College for the last time on Friday, 16-12, to advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. 

Coincidentally, it was the Panthers that handed the Dolphins their first Division II loss in their inaugural meeting in the 2011 season, while ending Le Moyne's postseason run for the fourth straight year and for the ninth time in Le Moyne's 12 years at Division II. Adelphi, who was coming off the program's fourth NCAA Division II title (2010), stole an 11-9 victory, with Frankie Caridi, current Associate Head Coach, minding the cage and finishing with 11 saves.

"This is a great win for us but it's definitely bittersweet," commented Head Coach Pat McCabe. "I am so proud of our team and the way they executed the gameplan - playing with great energy and remaining composed from start to finish."

Led by a career-high six goals from Izzy Grant, the Panthers scored early and kept the pressure on Le Moyne throughout, never allowing them to get closer than two goals.

Rita Sefransky got things going for the third-seed, scoring at 13:59, before Adelphi added two more in a matter of two minutes for a 3-0 score. After Danielle Marino connected with Grant for the second time in the opening frame, defensive middie Fiona Rafferty scored her first goal of the season as the buzzer sounded to make it 6-1 in favor of the Cats. 

The second-seeded Dolphins strung together back-to-back scores to cut the deficit in half, but ultimately still trailed by three at the half, despite outscoring the Brown and Gold 3-1 in the second quarter.

Coming out of the locker room, as the heat began to break somewhat, the Panthers added their eighth and ninth goals courtesy of Kelly-Ann McGrath and Alexandra Leggio before Le Moyne responded with three unanswered to come within two. A man-up possession coupled with a free position attempt nad Lily Miller caused turnover resulted in the Cats tacking on three more to lead 12-7 with 15 minutes minutes in regulation. 

After McGrath and Grant connected for the first goal of the fourth, Le Moyne scored and then put back one of their 12 free position attempts on the day - compared to Adelphi's three - to bring the game within four goals. Trading tallies, the 'Phins put two straight past Madison Marchetta, but the Adelphi defense stood strong and caused two key turnovers under the three minute mark to seal the deal and head back to the NCAA Second Round for the second consecutive season. 

"Le Moyne is an opponent we have tremendous respect for, so seeing this rivalry come to an end comes with some sadness. Both teams have enjoyed these battles - win or lose - and we're sorry to see them go."

McCabe and the Panthers will vy for their a spot in the Final Four by taking on the top-seeded Setters of Pace University on Sunday, May, 14. Game time is set for noon.