GARDEN CITY, N.Y. – No. 17/18 University of New Haven women's lacrosse team played a tough battle and fought until the end, but came up short against No. 2 Adelphi, 9-8 on Wednesday afternoon. Gianna Guerra (Stony Point, N.Y./North Rockland) had 14 saves in goal after facing 23 shots from the Panthers, and held Adelphi to less than 10 goals for the first time in almost a year.
 
Mackenzie Reh (Medford, N.Y./Patchogue Medford) led the way offensively for New Haven as she scored a team-high three goals. Grace Loeffler (Boca Raton, Fla./Cardinal Gibbons) had two goals, while Samantha Galler (Marshfield, Mass./Marshfield), Kendra Nolan (Oak Ridge, N.J./Jefferson Township) and Marina Skelly (Ronkonkoma, N.Y./Connequot) each scored once. Caroline Maher (Mansfield, Mass./Mansfield) picked up two points as she had two assists.  
 
The Panthers took an early 4-0 lead after rattling off four straight goals in the first seven minutes of the game. The Chargers defense came together and held Adelphi scoreless for the remainder of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half. New Haven responded to the Panthers' early lead with an offensive surge, scoring six unanswered goals to close out the first half.
 
Reh would get the Chargers on the board first. Loeffler found the back of the net for her first goal of the game, which was followed by Reh's second goal to get the Chargers within one. Nolan tied the game with just over five minutes to play in the first half, and a less than a minute later, Skelly scored to give the Chargers the lead for the first time in the game. Galler scored with five seconds left of the opening stanza to put the Chargers up by two at the half.
 
Adelphi came out strong in the second half, scoring five unanswered goals to take a three goal lead. Despite a few scoring opportunities by the Chargers' offense, Adelphi held New Haven scoreless for the first 28 minutes of the second half. Reh completed a hat trick with just over a minute left of the game to give the Chargers a new life, pulling them within two. Loeffler found the back of the net with 11 seconds left of the game to get the Chargers within one. After a New Haven timeout, Adelphi won the draw control to close out the game and end New Haven's hopes of forcing overtime.
 
Defensively, Raven Linton (Lawrenceville, N.J./Notre Dame) led the Chargers with three caused turnovers and picked up two ground balls. Alyssa Bourque (Goffstown, N.H./Goffstown) added two caused turnovers, while Marie Cox (Hamden, Conn./Hamden) and Skelly each had one. Reh had four of the six draw controls on the day for the Chargers, as Nolan and Skelly each had one.
 
The Chargers return home to Kathy Zolad Stadium on Saturday, March 23 to take on No. 16 Merrimack. Opening draw in the Northeast-10 Conference matchup against the Warriors is slated for 1:00 pm.