Langhorne, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's lacrosse team played its first conference game as a member of the United East on Saturday, as they traveled to Eastern Pennsylvania to take on Cairn. The Panthes dominated the game from the opening whistle, and Luke Amberman scored the 2nd most goals in a game in all of Division III lacrosse as Pitt-Bradford beat the Highlanders 22-5.
Amberman needed just 42 seconds to open the scoring as he caught a pass from Reid Kristufek in acres of space on the left wing, cut to the middle of the field, and whipped a shot back to the far post. He doubled his tally three minutes later, receiving a pass from Logan Watts on the wing before firing a shot to the top corner. Sam Kemp picked up the ensuing faceoff at top speed, moving into the offensive zone. He passed to Amberman in front of the goal, who dropped a pass to Logan Watts for an easy close-range finish. After a foul by the Highlanders with 11 minutes left on the clock, Amberman scored his third, catching a pass from Kristufek before shooting into the top left corner to put the Panthers up 4-0.
With 9 minutes remaining in the quarter, Kristufek scored the 5th goal for the Panthers, receiving a pass from Evan Hawley before beating the goalie high. The hosts pulled one back a minute later, but the Panthers were not done in the opening period, as they would score 3 more times. With 6 minutes left in the quarter, Watts restarted play after a Cairn penalty, circled the defense, and ripped a shot into the top right corner for his second of the game. Following a turnover, Amberman moved the ball into the offensive third and used a stutter step to beat the defender before shooting past the goalie from close range. Two minutes later, he caught a pass below the goal line, slipped by a defender, and forced in a shot from next to the cage for his 5th of the game.
Amberman stayed hot as the game moved into the second quarter, scoring the first three goals of the period. After 5 minutes of action, Amberman caught a pass from Hawley at the top of the zone, cut through two defenders, and shot into the bottom corner. A few minutes later, Watts picked up a ground ball on a Cairn turnover behind the goal and spotted Amberman wide open in front of the goal. They connected on a pass, and Amberman placed his 7th goal of the half into the netting. With 7:30 left in the half, Watts intercepted a high clearance from the Highlander goalie and quickly moved into attack. He drew in the defender and slipped a pass to Amberman for the easy goal.
Cairn got behind the Panther defense with 5 minutes left to score their second goal, but the Panthers weren't finished, as they tacked on two more goals before the break. Amberman scored his 9th goal of the game with 2 minutes left in the half, catching a pass from AJ Nardi behind the net before finishing from in front of the goal. With 90 seconds remaining in the quarter, the Panthers drew another penalty, and just after it expired, Sam Kemp was able to fire a shot from the top of the zone into the bottom corner to give the Panthers a 13-2 lead at the break.
Pitt-Bradford's dominance continued in the 2nd half, as they scored 3 unanswered goals in the 3rd period. Amberman reached double figures to start the half as he took possession on a restart, used a pick from a teammate, and ripped a shot into the top corner on the near post. A few minutes later, Austyn Stack joined the party, beating the goalie to the far post on an assist from Kemp. After the Highlanders possessed the ball and missed a shot wide, the Panthers dominated the next 5 minutes, taking 10 straight shots. They had two shots stopped, while 7 missed the net before Amberman converted for his 11th goal of the game. The Freshman caught a pass from Austyn Stack and placed a shot so perfectly in the top corner of the goal that it snuck between the post and the netting.
The Hosts scored twice to start the 4th quarter; however, Amberman was not finished as he added his 12th of the game with 6:11 remaining. Alex Arno cleared the defensive zone with a long pass to Watts in the corner. Watts slowed play down and passed to Jaden Freeland, who found Amberman wide open in front of the defense. Amberman caught, turned, and fired a low shot into the goal. With five minutes remaining, Freeland found Watts next to the goal, who fired from a sharp angle into the net for his third of the game.
In the final minutes of the game, the Panthers scored four more times. Just after the restart, David De La Teja passed to Kemp in the middle of the zone. Kemp caught, turned, and bounced a shot through traffic that crept under the goalie to make it 19-5. After Colin Shank made a save a minute later, he used a long pass to clear the zone. It caught the Highlanders off guard and started a 3-on-2 break. Freeland moved into the final third and passed to Watts, who found Hawley on the doorstep for an easy goal. Seconds later, Christian Beasley tacked on a goal, using a screen by Amberman before ripping a shot to the far post. To close the game, Freeland whipped a shot from the top of the zone under the goalie's stick for the 22nd and final goal of the game.
Luke Amberman broke his own record, scoring 12 goals in the win. He also added an assist. His 12 goals are the second most in a game in all of NCAA Division III. Logan Watts added three goals, while also picking up assists on 5 Panther Goals. Sam Kemp scored twice, while Jaden Freeland had a goal and three assists. Evan Hawley and Reid Kristufek each had a goal and an assist, while Austyn Stack and Christian Beasley both had goals. Evan Stack picked up the win, while he combined with Nolan Walsh and Colin Shank to make 6 saves.
The victory moves Pitt-Bradford to 10-3 on the season and 1-0 in United East play. They will be back on the road on Thursday, April 16th, when they take on La Roche in Pittsburgh. Opening faceoff is slated for 4:00 p.m.
