MANCHESTER, N.H. – The nationally-ranked Saint Anselm College field hockey team posted a 2-1 loss to visiting Adelphi University in double-overtime on Friday in the Northeast-10 Conference Semifinals.
Saint Anselm, the top seed in the NE10 postseason and the No. 7 team in NCAA Division II, falls to 14-6 and will await word of a possible at-large bid to the NCAA Division II Field Hockey Championship. The last official NCAA rankings have the Hawks slotted second in the East behind Assumption, who also bowed out in the NE10 playoffs.
Adelphi (12-8) conceded the first goal of the game to the Hawks before 2021 NE10 Player of the Year Kaylee Deleva scored both the game-tying goal in the fourth quarter as well as the double-overtime winner in the game's 73rd minute. The Panthers are on the bubble as an NCAA postseason team, checking in as the No. 5 squad in the East Region.
Adelphi is the only team to defeat the Hawks twice in 2022 as Deleva scored all three of her team's goals in those victories, including two game-winning overtime strikes. The fourth-seeded Panthers will move on to Sunday's NE10 Championship match against the winner of Friday evening's other semifinals tilt between seventh-seeded Pace and the No. 6 seed, New Haven.
The NCAA Division II Field Hockey Selection Show will air Monday, Nov. 21 at 3 p.m. on NCAA.com. Three teams from each region will be selected – there are no at-large bids in NCAA Division II field hockey.
Saint Anselm, who saw a nine-game winning streak ended with the loss, got a goal just 2:45 into the second half as sophomore Amanda Lewandowski (Franklin, Mass.) collected a rebound off an Adelphi defensive save and tucked it home.
The Hawks controlled play for the rest of the third quarter and in the first five minutes of the fourth, but Adelphi turned the tables in the game's final 10 minutes. Adelphi fired each of the final four shots and took advantage of a Hawks foul from 30 yards out in the 54th minute – with play stopped, Kylie Peregoy sent a powerful blast toward the slot where it was tipped home by Deleva for the equalizer.
Adelphi continued to make its own momentum, firing the lone shot of the first overtime and earning two penalty corners. The Hawks had their chances to collect corners of their own, carrying the ball into the arc on several occasions, but two plays were whistled down for offensive fouls.
Just 22 seconds into the second overtime period, senior Maggie Malloy (Canton, Mass.) got a shot off through traffic, but the attempt was denied by Panthers netminder Mirthe Karstens. With play going back the other way, Adelphi took full advantage of its next penalty corner – Deleva reeled in a pass from just inside the arc and tucked the ball around Hawks goalkeeper Mackenzie McConnell (Concord Township, Maine) for the winning strike.
The Hawks fired 13 of the game's 22 shots, including an eight-to-five advantage over the Panthers in shots on frame. On the season, Saint Anselm recorded 31 shot attempts against the Panthers to just 13 for Adelphi, but the Hawks opponent collected the win in both contests.
