Tampa, FL - In a rematch of the 2024 Women's Lacrosse National Championship game, the top-team in the land took down no. 3 Adelphi University by a 20-6 final decision in the Sunshine State on Saturday. 

Adelphi (1-1) struggled to find it's offense as the hosting Spartans held their foot on the gas pedal, pouring in its second 20+ goal game already this season. 

Trailing early, Marielle Colalillo breathed life into the Panther offensive end, with her unassistsed goal at 11:32 to break the silence. Four different scorers for the home team found their way past keeper Madison Marchetta before Adelphi scored again, as Ashley Kolomechuk's tally made it 7-2 midway through the second frame. 

Colalillo added one more before the halftime break, but it was all Tampa in the ensuing quarters as they padded their five goal lead with another seven before the final 15 minutes of regulation. In that stretch Payson Hedges, Rory Meehan and Alexandra Leggio all tallied goals, but the deficit kept growing. 

A scoreless fourth frame was not ideal as they only managed two shots while the hosts took six and scored four times. The Spartans were led by Sarah Engle, who scored six times and won five draw controls. 

Despite being plagued with turnovers, the Panthers held a 17-for-22 clip in clears and only trailed by three in the draw control circle. For the second game in a row, Meehan led the team in the circle, winning four of the team's 12 overall. On defense, Sonny Lionetti set a new career-mark in caused turnovers, finishing with six in the contest. 

Adelphi remains south for one more non-conference bout with Rollins College before returning home. The 'Cats will take on the Tars on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 7:30 p.m.