Garden City, N.Y. – On a cloudy Saturday afternoon on Long Island, two top-15 teams squared off on Motamed Field, as the #13 East Stroudsburg University Warriors faced off against the #10 Adelphi University Panthers in a rematch from the Final Four just a season ago.
A late goal from Payson Hedges sealed the deal for Adelphi (5-2) after Rita Sefransky drove down the field and snapped a pass inside as time was nearly expired, giving the home team a narrow 11-10 victory.
The Warriors (3-3) jumped out to an early lead in the first quarter, with two goals coming from leading-scorer Sadie Kauffman. The Panthers managed to get one goal on the board via an Amanda Lee goal from Julia Foppiano. After the first 15 minutes, the Warriors had a 3-1 lead.
Starting the second period of play, ESU picked up two quick penalties which allowed Adelphi to be up two players at one point. The 'Cats used that opportunity and got junior Rita Sefransky in on the goal-scoring action. The Warriors responded with a tally of their own from Ariana Tucci, extending their lead back out to two. From there, the Panthers rattled off three straight, highlighted by converted free position attempt courtesy of Hedges.
At the halfway point, the home team held onto a 5-4 advantage.
The third period started off with a strong defensive showing from both teams, but was broken up by Adelphi sophomore Ashley Kolomechuk, who converted another free position attempt for the hosts. Each team then began exchanging goals with ESU's Kauffman collecting her fourth goal of the contest in the process. As time expired, the Panthers still remained ahead by one.
In the final frame, it was the Warriors who scored just 49 seconds following the opening draw to tie the contest at eight-all. Less than a minute later, Tucci put ESU in the lead. Junior Alexandra Leggio responded with her first goal of the day, knotting the matchup once again.
With 3:17 left in regulation, ESU's Kauffman converted a free position attempt (her seventh goal of the game) to put the Warriors up 10-9. The Brown and Gold didn't go down quietly, as Kolomechuk tied the contest once again, with 2:30 left. As time was expiring, the 'Cats charged down the field with Sefransky finding Hedges in open space to convert the game winning goal with 7.6 seconds remaining and 11-10 final score.
Kolomechuk led the way offensively for the Panthers, scoring four points, accounting for three goals and one assist.
Senior netminder Madison Marchetta finished the day with seven saves, as East Stroudsburg's Abby Simonetti logged eight between the pipes.
Head Coach Pat McCabe and company are back in action on Motamed Field on Wednesday, Mar. 19. The Bentley University Falcons will make their way to Garden City, for a 5:00 p.m. draw time.
