Lakeland, FL - With a four goal lead at the half, the no. 6 Adelphi University women's lacrosse team went on to capture a 19-10 victory over no. 2 Florida Southern College on Sunday, at Berend Field. 

The Panthers (2-0) handed the Mocs (3-1) their first loss of the 2024 campaign, holding them to their lowest scoring output thus far. Ahead of the top-10 battle, Florida Southern was averaging nearly 22 goals per contest, but were held to 10 with the help of Jillian McFadden's eight saves between the pipes. 

It was Marielle Colalillo's 10-point day that led the Panthers in its second victory and first over a top-five opponent, as four others recorded three or more points in the win.

The Mocs used back-to-back man-up possessions to double its lead over the team from the north, using Jackie Stoller's 19th goal of the season to kick off the start of the second frame. Kerrin Heuser took matters into her own hands when she scored twice - once in a man-down situation and another with an extra body - to bring the game back to a tie at 4-4. 

It was Colalillo's first goal in the second that sparked a 7-2 run over the second quarter to give the visitors a four-goal edge at the break.

The home team had to play from behind for the remainder of the contest and managed to tack on three in the third, but not before contributions from Rita Sefransky, Kelly-Ann McGrath and Colalillo maintained the four-goal spread. 

Florida Southern strung together two early in the final 15 minutes of regulation, but the final nine minutes were all Adelphi as four different players found a way past McKenzie Gaghan to run up the score. Danielle Marino got the last word as her man-down unassisted tally resulted in a 19-10 victory for the Cats. 

McGrath ran the circle, winning 11 draw controls to help the Panthers win the battle 20-10 for the game. 

Adelphi will remain in Florida for its next contest - a midweek matchup with the University of Tampa on Wednesday, Feb. 28. Game time is set for 7:00 p.m.