Garden City, N.Y. - On a cold fall night at Motamed Field, the four-seeded Adelphi Panthers fell to fifth seed Bentley University in the quarterfinals of the NE10 Tournament, with a shootout ending the game 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
It was a rematch of last year's quarterfinal, where the Panthers came away victorious 2-1, with Sydney Rossacci scoring the eventual game-winner.
The first overtime was a stalemate, as both teams had opportunities on offense, applying plenty of pressure. Neither team was able to break the 1-1 tie however, sending the game into a second overtime. There, Bentley had a golden opportunity to end it, as a three on one breakaway started to form. It was Allison Gregory though who came up, way out of the goal, to make an incredible save, keeping the game deadlocked at one, and later sending us to a shootout.
In the shootout Bentley came out on top, as both Meagan Hayes and Nicole Hartz found the back of the goal. The Panthers were not able to respond as they were blanked in the third extra period, ending their season.
The first quarter started with Bentley having early aggression, as they earned a lot of ball possession compared to Adelphi. Neither team could find the back of the net, with the most crucial moment coming from Francesca Manzella. The senior's stellar defensive efforts stopped a potential two-on-one breakaway for the Falcons.
Adelphi had a great chance to score in the second, with 5:49 left, as Ali Nagy was awarded a Penalty stroke. Bentley then decided to sub goalies, going with sophomore Annie Lorenz instead of starter Erin McGuinness. The move paid off as Lorenz made a diving stop to her right to keep Nagy and the Panthers off the board heading into the halftime break.
Starting the second half both teams made pushes in an attempt to break the tie. With just under five minutes left in the third, Bentley midfielder Emma Halas took the ball up the right side of the field, sent a cross into the middle, which helped Gracie Moore find the back of the goal and break the tie.
The Brown and Gold were starting to feel the pressure in the fourth as their offense turned up the heat against the road defense. In the thirteenth minute it appeared the Panthers had tied it up 1-1 off of a Kylie Peregoy rip from the previous penalty corner, but the goal was taken off the board, as the ref called her outside the semi-circle.
Adelphi continued to chomp at the bit, keeping the intensity on offense, and it paid off as they got a penalty corner in the 55th minute. Nagy sent it in right to Peregoy, this time inside the semi-circle she sent a rocket finding the bottom left of the goal, getting her revenge and tying the game at one-all. Neither side would get anything else going in regulation, taking us to overtime.
Head Coach Jess Mulhern and Adelphi will now await their fate in the NCAA Tournament Selection Show, airing Monday, Nov. 11 on NCAA.com.
