Bethany, WV -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's lacrosse team opened its 2026 campaign on Saturday with a road matchup at Bethany. The Panthers jumped out to a 7-0 lead on the hosts and never looked back, ultimately winning the game 18-4.
It only took the Panthers 9 seconds to get their season off the mark, as Austyn Stack won the opening draw and fed Luke Amberman on the right wing. The freshman attacker collected the pass and ripped a shot into the net to open his collegiate account. Starting goalkeeper Hunter Shank kept the Panthers in front for the next 7 minutes until the Panthers could double their lead. Amberman turned provider for the second, drawing the defense to the top of the zone before dropping a pass to Jaden Freeland, who beat the keeper high. Pitt-Bradford took advantage of another quick faceoff win by Stack to add to the lead 7 seconds later. Stack won the draw and sprinted into the zone, where he found Logan Watts alone at the top of the crease. Watts gathered the pass and shot into the net to push the lead to three.
Following a Shank save, the Panthers made it 4-0 with 6:21 left in the first. Amberman took a hit at the top of the zone but found David De La Teja on the opposite wing. De La Teja shot from 10 yards out and found the top corner for his first of the season. Pitt-Bradford picked up its first man-advantage at the 4:33 mark after a slash on Reid Kristufek. The Panthers put it to good use, scoring 15 seconds later. Warrs intercepted a pass behind the goal and found Amberman in front for the easy man-up tally. Two minutes later, Amberman recorded his third goal of the quarter, firing a low shot into the net after a pass from Sam Kemp. It gave the Panthers a 6-0 lead after one quarter.
Amberman began the second quarter just as he started the game, scoring on Pitt-Bradford's first possession of the period. The hosts responded after the 7th, taking advantage of a Panther penalty to get on the board with the man-advantage, and then a few minutes later, adding a second. The Panther offense remained quiet in the second quarter, until they scored twice in the last four mintues. Evan Hawley picked up a ground ball in the offensive zone and went on a long run from the right flank to the left wing. He fired a shot back across his body beyond the goalie for his first of the year. A minute later, Watts scored his second of the game. He picked up a ground ball behind the net, sprinted to the goal mouth, and bounced a shot past the keeper to make it 9-2 at halftime.
The Panthers continued their offensive attack after the break, scoring 5 more times in the third. De La Teja started the half with a tap-in goal after a long run through the defense by Mikey Blake. 20 seconds later, the Panthers were on the board again, as Kemp caused a turnover near midfield and sprinted into the offensive end. He ran past the defense and fired into the goal for his first collegiate tally. Two minutes later, Kristufek found space near the crease, received a pass from Watts, and put a shot in the top corner to put the Panthers up 12-2.
Hawley scored the next two goals for Pitt-Bradford. With 9 minutes left in the quarter, Blake drew a pair of Bison defenders behind the goal and slipped a pass over the goal to Hawley, who quickly deposited it into the goal. A few minutes later, Hawley picked up a ground ball near midfield and caught the Bethany defense away from the goal. He sprinted into the open field beyond the defenders and beat the goalie to the far side for his 3rd of the game. Bethany pulled one back shortly after the restart, sending the game to the final quarter with Pitt-Bradford ahead 14-3.
Mikey Blake got the final quarter started, scoring his first goal of the year with 11:14 remaining. He received a pass on the left flank, beat the defender to the middle of the field, and fired past the goalie. A few minutes later, Blake found space on the left flank and, after drawing a defender, found Watts in front of the goal for the easy score. With 7:20 remaining, Blake scored one more time. AJ Nardi picked up a groundball and found Kristufek to the right of the goal. The junior midfielder found Blake on the backside with an open goal for his 2nd of the game. Hawley finished the scoring with just under two minutes to go. After running the shot clock down to its final seconds, he beat his defender to the left and put a shot into the net from 10 yards out for his fourth of the game. The hosts tacked on one final goal in the last minute, beating Evan Stack from close range.
Luke Amberman and Evan Hawley led the Panthers on the day, each scoring 4 times. Amberman scored 4 first half goals on 15 shots, while also assisting two others. Halwey finished with 4 goals on 8 shots. Logan Watts scored three times on just 5 shots, while also picking up 4 assists. David De La Teja and Mikey Blake each scored twice, while Reid Kristufek, Jaden Freeland, and Sam Kemp all got on the board. Hunter Shank played the first half in goal for the Panthers, making 6 saves while allowing two goals. Evan Stack played the final two quarters, making 4 saves on 6 shots.
The Panthers start their season with a win and move to 1-0. They will be back in action on Wednesday, as they will face another road test. They will face Thiel at 7:00 p.m. in Greenville, PA.
