BROOKEVILLE, N.Y. – The No. 10 University of New Haven women's lacrosse team (10-3) rallied for six second half goals and scored with two seconds remaining to force overtime before falling to No. 5 LIU Post 9-8 at Bethpage Federal Credit Union Stadium on Thursday afternoon. Leading the Chargers overall was sophomore Samantha Galler (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) who finished with her first collegiate hat trick.

Galler was one of four Chargers to score in the contest with classmate Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) and senior Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn./Branford) each adding a pair of goals while freshman Hailey Rattigan (Hicksville, N.Y./Holy Trinity) rounded out the Blue and Gold's scoring. O'Brien also added a pair of assists on the day, finishing with a team-high four points. Joining O'Brien in leading New Haven with two helpers was junior Jessica Mazliah (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North).

Arguably the star of the day for New Haven was freshman goalkeeper Erica Rinsky (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex) who despite suffering the defeat racked up an impressive nine saves, helping New Haven claw back to eventually take a 7-6 lead and force overtime. Defensively, the Chargers forced LIU Post into nine turnovers, racking up 14 ground balls and finished with a 13-fo-16 effort in clear attempts.

SCORING

·         21:28 1st – LIU :: Alexis Newman unassisted

·         13:28 1st – LIU :: Ryan McKinney from Connor Bird

·         12:24 1st – LIU :: Ryan McKinney from Connor Bird

·         11:24 1st – UNH :: Samantha Galler (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) (1) from Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn./Branford) (1)

·         3:56 1st – LIU :: Ryan McKinney unassisted

·         0:17 1st – LIU :: Alexis Newman from Connor Bird

·         26:34 2nd – LIU :: Connor Bird unassisted

·         23:54 2nd – UNH :: Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) (1); Free Position

·         21:08 2nd – UNH :: Hailey Rattigan (Hicksville, N.Y./Holy Trinity) (1) from Jessica Mazliah (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) (1); Man-up

·         17:24 2nd – UNH :: Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) (2); Free Position

·         15:48 2nd – UNH :: Samantha Galler (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) (2) from Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn./Branford) (2)

·         13:36 2nd – UNH :: Samantha Galler (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) (3) from Jessica Mazliah (Holbrook, N.Y./Sachem North) (2)

·         8:47 2nd – UNH :: Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn./Branford) (1) from Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) (1)

·         7:15 2nd – LIU :: Connor Bird from Alexis Newman

·         4:34 2nd – LIU :: Ryan McKinney; Free Position

·         0:02 2nd – UNH :: Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn./Branford) (2) unassisted

·         0:16 2nd – LIU :: Alyssa Mallery unassisted

HIGHLIGHTS

·         LIU Post opened up the game scoring the first three goals of the afternoon, holding the Chargers off the board for the first 18:30 of the game. Exactly 60 seconds after the third Pioneers tally, Samantha Galler (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield) put New Haven on the board for the first time when she redirected a pass from Caitlin O'Brien (Branford, Conn./Branford).

·         That goal would stand as the only of the half for New Haven as the low scoring opening half went in favor of LIU Post 5-1. The Chargers did have three attempts at scoring with under ten minutes remaining before the intermission with all three on free position attempts. The first two both careened off of the post while the third was blocked.

·         After the Pioneers opened up the second half with a goal, New Haven began a six-goal rally with the first five goals coming from the underclassmen. Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) began the momentum swing when she scored off a free position attempt.

·         Reh would mimic that goal just over six minutes later, with a man-up tally from Hailey Rattigan (Hicksville, N.Y./Holy Trinity) splitting the two free position goals for Reh. Rattigan's goal came off a pass from Mazliah, her first of the afternoon.

·         Nearly midway through the second half, Galler continued the rally with back-to-back goals that game just over two minutes apart. The first of those came off a feed from O'Brien, while Mazliah helped on the second. Just 25 seconds after that first Galler goal, rookie goalkeeper Erica Rinsky (North Caldwell, N.J./West Essex) made a bigtime save that helped set up Galler's second straight goal.

·         O'Brien would then provide the first of her two goals which was also the final in New Haven's six-goal run. Reh would provide the assistance on O'Brien's goal, while defensively, during that same stretch, the Chargers held LIU without a goal for just under 20 minutes, while Rinsky came up with five saves.

·         LIU Post broke its drought with the first of two-straight goals that resulted in an 8-7 lead with under five remaining.

·         The game looked to be in the Pioneers hands when the Pioneers successfully completed a full field clear with 69 seconds to go. However, Hannah Johnson (Madison, Conn./Daniel Hand) caused a crucial turnover on the Pioneers and with under 20 seconds remaining, New Haven went the length of the field with O'Brien firing the game-tying goal with two seconds left on the clock to force overtime.

·         The Chargers would manage the first possession of the extra frame, getting one shot off before LIU Post took over, eventually connecting on their third shot attempt over the final two minutes in overtime. That game-winning goal for the Pioneers came from freshman midfielder Alyssa Mallery.

NEXT ON TAP
The Chargers close out a three-game week when they travel to the Granite State for the first of back-to-back meetings in Manchester, N.H. The initial opponent in those contests comes as a visit to Grappone Stadium to take on the Saint Anselm Hawks with opening draw set for 12:00 p.m.