Syracuse, N.Y. – Senior attacker
Bryanna Fazio (Watertown, N.Y./General Brown) scored the game-winning goal with 2:38 remaining and junior goalkeeper
Hannah George (Johnson City, N.Y./Maine-Endwell) made a save with 54 seconds left as the top-ranked Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team defeated second-ranked Adelphi University, 8-7, in Northeast-10 Conference action on Wednesday afternoon at Ted Grant Field.
With the victory, Le Moyne (16-0, 12-0 NE10) clinches at least a share of the Northeast-10 Conference regular season title and will be the top seed in next week's NE10 Championships. The Dolphins close out the regular season on Saturday at 12:00 p.m. against Saint Michael's College and will open NE10 Championship play on Wednesday, May 1 at 12:00 p.m. against the eighth seed (Stonehill College, Saint Anselm College or Southern New Hampshire University).
Le Moyne, which improved to 10-0 against ranked teams this season, netted the first goal of the game. Off a free-position attempt following a foul on the Panthers, junior midfielder
Nicole Delany (Camillus, N.Y./West Genesee) sent a pass in front of the net to sophomore attacker
Erin McMullen (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill), who flipped a shot into the back of the net at the 25:32 mark for her 40th tally of the season.
Adelphi responded with three straight goals. Christina Ferrara evened the score at one apiece with her 21st goal of the year with 22:14 to go in the half. Kole Pollock put the Panthers in front for the first time at the 18:13 mark with her 53rd goal of the year. Pollock pushed her team's lead to two with 11:59 left after taking a pass from Alison Johnson, last year's NE10 Player of the Year and a leading candidate for this year's honor.
Le Moyne, which improved to 5-5 at Ted Grant Field against the Panthers (2-7 in Garden City, 0-3 at neutral sites) answered back with consecutive goals. Senior midfielder
Monica Sanna (Pittsford, N.Y./Pittsford) converted a free-position shot with 9:36 left for her career-high 33rd tally of the season. Following a possession-clock violation on the Panthers, McMullen scored just before Le Moyne was whistled for a clock violation of its own to knot the score at three with 5:56 remaining and force an Adelphi timeout.
The Panthers regained the lead with the next two goals. Pollock netted her third goal of the day – and 55th of the season – with 4:55 to go for a 4-3 advantage. After Johnson had a shot clang off the post, Lena Riportella collected the loose ball in front of the crease and dropped the ball into the net in an extra-player situation with 2:05 left for her 38th goal of the season.
Le Moyne countered 50 seconds later to pull within one at halftime. In a reverse of the game's first goal, Delany found the back of the net for the 40th time this year after collecting a feed from McMullen.
Pollock had a free-position attempt with seven seconds left, but had her shot blocked before the ball could get near the goal as the teams went into halftime with Adelphi leading 5-4.
Adelphi took its third two-goal lead of the game with the first score of the second half. Off a feed from Johnson, Riportella tallied her second goal of the game with 27:17 left.
Le Moyne rattled off the next three goals to take the lead back. In transition off an Adelphi turnover, Fazio registered her 51st goal of the season with 24:38 left after taking a pass in front of the net from junior attacker
Sidney Hall (Adams Center, N.Y./South Jefferson). Three minutes later, McMullen scooped up a rebound of a saved shot and deposited it into the back of the net in an extra-player situation for her 42nd goal of the campaign. Following almost seven and one-half minutes of scoreless play, Sanna scored from the right edge of the crease to put the Dolphins in front.
Adelphi knotted the score for the final time with 11:56 left, snapping a scoring drought of 15:21. Off a pass from Pollock from the left alley, Christina McCabe, who spent her first three collegiate semesters at Syracuse University and the daughter of AU head coach Pat McCabe (Syracuse '90), recorded her ninth goal of the season to tie the score at seven.
Following four empty possessions by the Panthers around three by the Dolphins, Le Moyne scored the game-winning goal. Off a give-and-go near the left goal line extended, Fazio fired home her 52nd goal of the season with 2:38 remaining off a pass from Hall.
Le Moyne won the ensuing draw control, but had a shot hit off the post with 1:38 left and Adelphi collected the loose ball. Allison Stackpole drew a foul with 54.4 seconds remaining and was awarded a free-position shot. She sent a shot towards the right post, but George was able to smother the shot. The Dolphins were then able to run the remaining time off the clock to secure the victory.
George finished the game with five saves, including three in the second half. Emma Lemanski tallied a career high-tying 11 saves, including eight in the second half, in the loss for the Panthers.