Syracuse, N.Y. – Senior midfielder Rhonee Shea Pal (Canastota, N.Y./Bishop Grimes) fired in a free-position shot to beat the possession clock and give the Le Moyne College women's lacrosse team a 7-6 victory in overtime over Sacred Heart University on Saturday afternoon in the Northeast Conference opener for both teams at Ted Grant Field.

"I'm so proud of our team and our ability to stay composed throughout a back and forth game," said head coach Liz Beville. "Maddi Barney was on fire offensively for us and Lilly Locastro and the defensive unit were outstanding. Our energy on the sideline was the best it's been all year. Fantastic team win for the Phins!"

Sacred Heart, which won the NEC regular season and tournament championships last year and had its 12-game win streak against NEC opponents snapped, opened the game's scoring at the 13:10 mark as Shae Insinga tallied her seventh goal of the season after beating her defender around the cage.

Le Moyne tied the score for the first time with 5:45 remaining in the quarter as sophomore attacker Bella Sampo (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) netted her fourth goal of the year after collecting a pass from senior attacker Sarah Hutchings (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus).

The Dolphins took advantage of a green card on the opening draw of the second quarter to take their first lead of the game. Following a foul 30 seconds later, senior attacker Reilly Geer (Syracuse, N.Y./Westhill) converted a free-position shot with 14:22 remaining in the quarter for her third goal of the campaign.

The Pioneers answered back just over four minutes later. Off a feed from Emma Kittredge, Kelly Nolan scored her third goal of the season with 10:10 left in the half. Only 44 seconds later, they regained the lead on Maggie Araneo's 10th marker of the year.

Le Moyne scored the final two goals of the quarter to take a 4-3 lead into the intermission. Freshman midfielder Maddi Barney (Lorraine, N.Y./South Jefferson) tallied her second goal of the season with 7:31 left off a feed from behind the net from junior attacker Raegan McQuade (Endwell, N.Y./Maine-Endwell). With 1:13 left, Barney put her team in front by scoring with just one second left on the possession clock after backing up a missed shot and racing to the left edge of the crease.

Kittredge tied the score for the fourth time just 22 seconds into the third quarter with her 12th goal of the season.

Barney put the Dolphins back in front just over two minutes later after collecting a pass from Geer.

Just under five and one-half minutes later, Jamie Tanner registered her third goal of the season after taking a feed in front of the net from Araneo.

Neither team was able to take the lead over the last 6:50 of the third as they went into the fourth quarter tied at five.

Following almost seven minutes of scoreless action to start the final quarter – and 14 minutes of scoreless play in the game – Pal put the Dolphins in front with 8:05 remaining during an extra-player situation.

The Pioneers answered back only 52 seconds later to tie the score for the sixth and final time. Off an errant pass from the right side, Insinga collected the loose ball and fired it into the net for her eighth goal of the season with 7:13 to play.

Over the final seven minutes of regulation, only one shot was put on goal and it was turned away, while the teams combined for seven possessions ending on turnovers.

Sacred Heart controlled the opening draw of overtime and worked the ball around for 40 seconds before throwing it away.

The Dolphins cleared the ball and called timeout. After Le Moyne moved the ball around for one minute, Pal earned a free-position shot with just two seconds remaining in the possession clock. From the hash just to the right of center, Pal took four steps and fired a low shot into the back of the net for the game-winner with 3:48 remaining in overtime.

Fifth-year goalkeeper Paige Crandall (Adams, N.Y./South Jefferson) registered 11 saves, including seven in the first half, in earning her 47th career victory. Senior defender Lilly Locastro (Marcellus, N.Y./Marcellus) led the Dolphins on the defensive end with five ground balls and four caused turnovers. Lisa Martin tallied eight saves, including five in the third quarter, in the loss.

Le Moyne (2-4, 1-0 NEC), which has won 16 consecutive conference games at the Division I level, is back on Ted Grant Field next Saturday at 12:00 p.m. against former Northeast-10 rival Stonehill College.