Bradford, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's lacrosse team returned to action after a 10-day break on Tuesday, hosting Elmira in a game that was originally scheduled earlier this month. The Panthers scored three times in the opening minute and then, after the visitors closed the gap, scored 5 unanswered in the 4th to secure an 18-10 victory.
The Panthers exploded at the opening whistle, needing just 30 seconds to open the scoring. Logan Giles forced an early turnover, and then, after getting set in the offensive zone, David De La Teja ripped a high shot into the net to put the Panthers in front. 20 seconds later, Logan Watts passed to Reid Kristufek from behind the net, who fired a shot into the goal to double the lead. Seconds later, they repeated the play as Watts found Kristufek on the back side for a quick 3rd goal, which forced Elmira into an early timeout.
After the timeout, the visitors were able to control some possession, forcing Hunter Shank into a save, but it was the Panthers who would score next, pushing their lead to 4. Pitt-Bradford patiently probed the Elmira defense until Watts was able to slip a pass to Mikey Blake in the middle of the zone. Blake caught the pass and beat the keeper from close range for the goal. Just over a minute later, the Panthers made it 5-0 when Luke Amberman scored with a shot to the near post off the 4th assist of the quarter by Watts. Elmira pulled two back, but Pitt-Bradford had the last word in the opening quarter, scoring two more times in the final 80 seconds. With 1:30 left in the quarter, Watts picked up his first goal of the game as he caught a pass from Amberman near the crease and shot at a tight angle into the goal. Pitt-Bradford drew a penalty on the resulting faceoff and then took advantage, scoring with a man-up in the last minute. Blake picked up a groundball behind the cage and then fed Amberman at the top of the zone, who fired into the net for his second of the game.
Elmira got off to a strong start to begin the second period, cutting the Panther lead ot 3 after two early goals. A minute later, Sam Kemp intercepted a clearance attempt and found Blake in the zone, who set up the offense. Blake passed to Amberman on the left flank, and the freshman beat the goalie through the five-hole to put the Panthers up 4. After Elmira answered with just under 6 minutes left in the half, Watts found the net again to keep the lead at four. He started the possession behind the net, but slipped in front of the crease, where Blake found him wide open. Watts caught the pass and quickly shot past the keeper into the top of the goal for his second of the game. The Soaring Eagles pulled another goal back, but the Panthers once again finished the quarter on the front foot as Sam Kemp scored twice in the last 90 seconds. For his first goal, Kemp gathered possession at the top of the zone and, after inching toward the goal, switched hands and bounced a left-handed shot into the goal. In the final minute, the Panthers went on the man advantage again and scored their 11th goal of the half. After two shots missed the net, De La Teja found Kemp in the middle of the zone defense, who caught, turned, and bounced a low shot into the goal, putting the Panthers up 11-6 at the break.
After the break, the Panthers looked to resume control, but could not find the net as they had 4 early shots, including one that hit the net. Elmira scored first, whipping a shot past Shank with 11 minutes left in the quarter. The Soaring Eagles continued to press, but Shank made three saves over the next 5 minutes to keep the lead at 4. Following a delay of game penalty, the Panthers regained control and scored their 12th of the game just seconds after the penalty expired. De La Teja flipped a pass to Amberman on the right wing, who placed a shot perfectly in the top corner for his 4th of the game. The visitors scored two in a row, cutting the Pitt-Bradford lead to 3, but the Panthers had another answer off a faceoff win, and closed another quarter with the final goal. AJ Nardi passed to Amberman from behind the net, and the freshman tallied his 5th goal, bouncing a shot early that went over the goalie's stick and into the top of the net.
In the final quarter, the Panthers put the game away, scoring 5 in a row before Elmira scored in the final minutes. After 7 minutes of back-and-forth action, Kemp scored his third goal of the game. Off a restart, Kemp caught the Elmira defense napping, finding a space in front of the goal where he received a pass from Blake and shot from close distance into the goal. Pitt-Bradford also drew a penalty on the play and was rewarded with possession on the restart. Amberman took 3 shots that either missed the net or were blocked. He caught a pass from Blake in the heart of the defense and, in one motion, turned and shot into the goal to give the Panthers a 6-goal lead. Two minutes later, Kemp found the net again for his 4th of the game. He received a pass from Austyn Stack on the right wing and once again took a left-handed shot, beating the goalie at the near post to put the Panthers up 16-9. After another Elmira penalty and two Watts shots off the post, Amberman recorded his 7th of the game. Pitt-Bradford passed the ball around the offensive zone until Amberman had enough space to whip a shot from the left wing into the goal. Seconds later, Stack finished the scoring for Pitt-Bradford. He ran the ball into the offensive zone and passed behind the net to set up the offense. The ball eventually came all the way back around, and he was able to slip a shot into the goal at the near post. Elmira scored one final goal in the last minute before the Panthers were able to run out the clock and secure the 18-10 victory.
Luke Amberman led the way for Pitt-Bradford, scoring 7 goals while adding one assist. Sam Kemp added 4 goals and an assist, while Logan Watts scored twice and picked up 4 assists. Mikey Blake scored once and led the team with 5 assists. Reid Kristufek finished with two goals, while David De La Teja chipped in with a goal and three helpers. Austyn Stack scored once, assisted once, and won 14 faceoffs. Defensively, Hunter Shank made 19 saves, while Alex Arno caused two turnovers and collected 3 ground balls.
The win moves Pitt-Bradford to 8-3 on the season. They will be back in action on Friday evening, when they host Hilbert on their Salute to Service night. The game will feature a presentation of colors by the National Guard, as well as a halftime celebration of any veterans in attendance. The festivities begin at 5:00, with the opening draw slated for 5:30.
