WEST HAVEN, Conn. – In a tight game that featured six ties and four lead changes, the No. 18 Assumption women's lacrosse team was dealt a 16-15 setback by New Haven in another matchup of nationally-ranked Northeast-10 Conference programs on Tuesday evening.

After New Haven began the game with a 2-1 advantage, the Greyhounds closed out the opening quarter with six unanswered to seize control moving forward. Junior Jenna Joseph factored into three goals, and sophomore Olivia Catanzarite (East Longmeadow, Mass.) netted two herself to lead the charge during the hot stretch which saw the Greyhounds convert seven of their nine shots on target.

The Chargers, however, recharged between periods and scored the opening four goals of the second quarter. Senior goalie Allie Collins (Natick, Mass.) stopped a free position shot from Gianna Caprioli with 11:39 remaining, but the ball was still able to trickle in.

Even though the Greyhounds were able to get another marker from Catanzarite when competing a player down, New Haven continued to fight back and drew even by scoring three straight goals to make it 9-9 heading into the break.

The teams traded goals at the beginning of the third quarter with Reagan Bailey giving the Chargers the upper hand by opening the scoring at the 13:49 mark. New Haven went ahead by two when Annie Acquavita capitalized on a Greyhound yellow card, but Joseph set up Edwards for a goal in the waning seconds to bring the visitors within one.

Trailing 13-12 entering the fourth quarter, Assumption tied the game for the fifth when sophomore Ella Tenney (Braintree, Mass.) raced down the right side and completed a hat trick with 9:21 left to play. The goal provided the visitors a spark at the time, as Joseph then set up senior Lauren Jakobs (Naples, Maine) and graduate student Alison Foley (Walpole, Mass.) to allow the Greyhounds to regain the lead.

New Haven (9-5, NE10 5-5) still fought back by tying the game again at 15s and then had a golden opportunity when the Greyhounds picked up their fourth yellow with just over four minutes remaining in regulation. Top scorer Bailey earned herself a free position and netted her fifth goal of the game on the play, pushing the Chargers back on top with 3:57 left, and a green card for delay of game then allowed the hosts to play another minute up two players.

Assumption got a big stop defensively and had the opportunity to tie the game, but shots by Foley and senior Jill Good (North Andover, Mass.) misfired. New Haven successfully cleared the ball and were able to use a lot of the clock, but the Greyhounds got the ball back and were able to get one more chance to tie the score. Even though Catanzarete drew a foul inside, her ensuing free position shot with 49 seconds sailed high.

The Greyhounds took a timeout to set up a play to net the equalizer, but Good's shot was wide, and Charger goalie Gabby Buscemi won the race to the ball to give the hosts possession back. New Haven then was able to run out the clock to survive and escape with the one-goal win.

Bailey netted five goals and won five draws to lead the way for New Haven, which scored three of its goals, including the game-winning marker, while competing a player up. Cypress Levitt and Cameryn Antler each posted hat tricks, Caprioli tallied nine draw controls, and Buscemi made 10 saves.

Joseph once again paced Assumption, which outshot the Chargers by a 34-27 margin, by contributing two goals, four assists, three draw controls, two ground balls, and one caused turnover. Tenney and Catanzarite each finished with hat tricks, while Catanzarite also won seven draw controls. Collins turned aside six Charger shots.

Assumption (8-6, NE10 6-4) will next host Southern New Hampshire for another conference matchup which should have huge playoff implications on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.