Garden City, N.Y. - With 90 seconds left in regulation,
Madison Apicella popped a shot right over the keeper on Saturday, to hand Southern New Hampshire its first loss of the season and to solidify the top spot in the Northeast-10 Conference standings, following a 2-1 decision.
Early goals by either side highlighted the first half, with the Penmen (9-1-4, 5-1-3 NE10) striking first in the 20th minute of action. Ava Jakich-Kunze netted her sixth of the season courtesy of a pass from Imogen Noon.
It took five minutes, but Apicella evened the score with her sixth tally of the year after a smart decision to float the ball up and over an eager Claudia Keith. The Penmen netminder came out far enough that Apicella was able to manage a pass from
Kayleigh Goodrich and send it floating to the back of the cage.
The ensuing 25 minutes saw a 3-1 advantage in shots from Southern New Hampshire, with one being gobbled up by
Peyton DeRouen.
Within the first three minutes of the second half, Adelphi put two shots on goal and added a third that went wide, in an effort to break away from the stalemate. It was Penmen defense and six saves from Keith that held the Panthers off, until a set piece with under two minutes remaining.
Carly Issing sent a shot inside to find Apicella who netted the gamewinner with 90 seconds left on the clock.
Adelphi wraps up the regular season with a Nov. 6 meeting at Pace University - game time is set for 7:00 p.m. Following that matchup, the NE10 will release the official 2024 Championship bracket with game dates and times for the upcoming conference tournament.
