Garden City, N.Y. - On a rain-soaked field, the Adelphi University field hockey team fell to No. 7 Southern New Hampshire University on an overtime goal by Minke van de Poll on Saturday afternoon, by a final score of 3-2.

The game's results were overshadowed by the annual "Tunnel to Towers" charity efforts, with shirts being sold through the team to raise funds for both the Tunnel to Towers Foundation and the program. Shirt orders will be taken through Monday, Sept. 30. 

The Penmen proved their national ranking early on, as senior Annemartine Christis scored her 11th of the season to put the visitors on top just over a minute in. After a few minutes of no offense, the teams exchanged shots for the remainder of the period. The final highlight came with just two seconds to play, as Tayla Szmak stopped a shot from Zoe Demers.

In the second frame, very little action occurred. Ali Nagy took the first penalty corner of the game with around six minutes left, where Kelly Johnson couldn't connect with her initial shot. Other than a green card on the road team's Shannon Gifford, the two teams headed to the break with Southern New Hampshire on top 1-0. 

Just under 90 seconds within the second half starting, Christis doubled the Penmen lead for her second of the game. A minute later however, Johnson would deflect a heater from Emiline Biggin into the net to give the Panthers their first tally of the afternoon. This was Johnson's first goal in over a year, with her last score coming on September 26, 2023. 

Later in the quarter, the 'Cats would score their second straight thanks to a breakaway from Biggin. Returning the favor, it was Johnson credited with the assist on the graduate student's goal. Even with the Brown and Gold earning three more penalty corners, all of their shots failed to reach the back of the net by the end of the frame, sending us to the final set of 15.

The most pivotal moment of the fourth quarter came at the 10:24 mark, when an inserted corner from Nagy found Lana Mignon de Wet, who fired the shot home after a possible deflection from Caroline Beakes. However, before the touches could be sorted out, the referees deemed the shot illegal due to de Wet being outside of the semi-circle. 

Both sides were scrambling for shots as time wore down in the fourth, but multiple saves by both Emma Peeters and Szmak sent the game to an extra period. 

In the seven vs. seven overtime period, both sides got a combined seven shots off. The most critical however came with about seven minutes elapsed, when de Poll snuck one past Szmak on her right side, ending the contest in favor of the Penmen.

Head Coach Jess Mulhern and the Panthers will be back in action on Tuesday (Oct. 1) when they travel to take on Mercy. Game time from Dobbs Ferry, N.Y. is set for 7 p.m.