Pleasantville, N.Y. – In a rematch of the 2024 NCAA Quarterfinals, the No. 10 Adelphi University women's lacrosse team suffered its first Northeast-10 Conference loss of the season at the hands of No. 8 Pace University on Wednesday night, 16-12.
In a battle of top-10 teams this season, the Panthers (7-3, 3-1 NE10) trailed by two at the half and were unable to overcome the deficit to extend their six-game win streak.
Needing just four points to reach the 100-point milestone, Ashley Kolomechuk achieved that with two goals and a pair of assists in the loss. Teammate Julia Foppiano was also responsible for four points. Adding hat tricks were Rita Sefransky and Alexandra Leggio, leading six players who found the back of the cage.
The Setters (6-2, 2-0 NE10) took a three-goal lead after the opening quarter, but the visitors managed to cut that deficit to two by halftime. Adelphi even edged the hosts in shots on goal in the opening quarter but still trailed by a pair of tallies.
Coming out of the break, Pace tacked on three more goals to extend its lead to five, forcing Head Coach Pat McCabe to call a timeout. Leggio got things going at the 7:44 mark and added another nearly three minutes later to begin chipping away at the home team's advantage. Foppiano added a third consecutive goal for Adelphi to come within two, but the Setters got the final goal of the frame to maintain their lead.
A defensive stand to start the final frame of regulation – featuring caused turnovers by Sonny Lionetti, Sefransky, and Madison Nicolosi – allowed the Panthers to once more come within two. However, that seemed to be as close as the No. 10 team would get, as every time they found the back of the cage, Pace did too.
Of Pace's 17 turnovers, the Adelphi defense caused 13, led by senior Danielle Becker, who matched her career high with four. Adelphi fell short in the draw circle, winning 13 compared to the Setters' 19, and was also outmatched in free-position attempts, which finished 10-2 in favor of the home team.
A change to the weekend schedule was announced earlier this afternoon, as the road trip to Saint Michael's College, originally scheduled for Saturday, Mar. 29, will now be a 1:00 p.m. Friday contest due to an impending snowstorm.
