GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – The Saint Anselm College women's lacrosse team suffered its first loss of the 2023 season to Adelphi University in a battle of nationally-ranked programs on Saturday, 13-10.

The Hawks, who are ranked 22nd in the ILWomen/IWLCA Division II National Poll, fall to 8-1 on the season and 4-1 in Northeast-10 Conference play while the Panthers, who are ninth in the same poll, improve to 6-3 on the season and 4-1 in league games.

Junior Alison Ferullo (North Andover, Mass.) led the Hawks offense with three goals in the contest. Seniors Ellie Richards (Reading, Mass.) and Taylor Cobain (East Greenwich, R.I.) netted a pair of goals each for Saint Anselm.

Junior Jess Sullivan (Wrentham, Mass.) recorded a team-high four points in the game as she recorded one goal and added three assists.

Sophomore Elizabeth Driscoll (Marblehead, Mass.) made a career-high 17 saves in the cage for Saint Anselm. Driscoll has now made double-digit saves in back-to-back games and has 10 or more stops in three of nine games started in 2023.

The Panthers opened the contest with the game's first three goals before Cobain netted her first goal of the game in the final minute of the first quarter.

Adelphi used a five-goal run to take an 8-1 lead with 4:21 remaining in the first half. However, senior Lexi Palmisano (Woburn, Mass.) and Richards combined for a pair of goals just 43 seconds apart to push the score to 8-3 at the intermission.

After both sides netted two goals each to the open the third quarter, Adelphi's Danielle Marino pushed the score to 11-5. However, the Hawks would score the final two goals of the third quarter and the first of the fourth to cut the deficit to three. Sullivan, Cobain, and Ferullo found the back of the cage once each on the three-goal run which made the score, 11-8.

The teams traded goals through the fourth quarter to make the score its eventual final of 13-10.

In the contest, the Panthers held a 38-21 advantage in shot attempts including a 30-14 edge in shots on goal. The Hawks were successful in 10-of-18 clears while the Panthers were 14-for-18. Both programs grabbed 13 draw controls each in the game.

Palmisano led all student-athletes with eight draw controls in the game. The senior is now tied for fifth all-time in program history with 158 career draw controls.

Ferullo, Richards, and freshman Taylor Riley (Lancaster, Mass.) were credited with two caused turnovers each with Driscoll scooping up a game-high five ground balls.

The Hawks will be back in action on Wednesday, Apr. 5 when the team heads to Assumption University for a 7 p.m. NE10 contest with the Greyhounds.