Latrobe, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's lacrosse team was back in action on Saturday, traveling to Latrobe to take on Saint Vincent. The Panthers fell behind early and could never catch up, eventually falling 16-5.
The hosts did not take long to jump in front, scoring after 27 seconds. The Panthers settled in after the opener, keeping the deficit at one for 9 minutes. Lily Thuman made one save on a free position shot, while Haley Carlo and Addison Molampy had attempts miss the target. The Bearcats doubled their lead at the six-minute mark, and then added a third with just under 3 minutes left in the quarter. The Panthers got on the board 90 seconds later when Captain Haley Carlo found the net. Molampy picked up a ground ball at the top of the zone and moved behind the net. She found Carlo streaking to the goal, who caught the pass and, without bringing her stick down, bounced a shot into the goal. The Panthers could not maintain momentum, as the Bearcats scored once more with 49 seconds left in the 1st.
Pitt-Bradford started the second quarter on the front foot, scoring 17 seconds after the restart. Aryanna Hatch got possession at the top of the attack zone, beat her defender with pace, and found the far post for a goal, cutting the lead to 2. The Hosts scored twice in the next 5 minutes, but the Panthers kept pushing and, after going a player up, scored their third goal of the game. Christina Abel controlled possession on the right wing and passed to Samantha Burke in front of the crease. Burke caught the pass with her back to the goal, but whipped a backhanded shot into the goal. Four minutes later, the Panthers struck with two Bearcats in the box to trim the deficit to two. After Burke missed a shot wide, she put the ball back in play on the restart and flipped a pass over the goal to Molampy. Molampy made a quick catch and beat the goalie high. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not hold down the hosts for the final 3 minutes of the half, as the Bearcats scored twice to take an 8-4 lead to halftime.
After the break, the Panthers came out of the gates firing, hitting the post after 13 seconds and then forcing a save just after. They would rue the missed chances, as Saint Vincent regained control. They kept the Panthers offense in check and scored three more unanswered goals in the quarter. The run continued into the fourth, and the hosts scored four more goals before the Panthers got back on the board. Using a free position shot, Molampy whipped an attempt into the upper right corner for her second of the game.
Addison Molampy led the Panthers with 2 goals and an assist. She took 9 shots, putting 6 on target. Samantha Burke, Haley Carlo, and Ayanna Hatch also scored goals, while Burke also picked up an assist. Lily Thuman made 6 saves in the loss.
The Panthers drop to 1-3 on the season. They will be back in action over spring break, when they head to North Carolina and face William Pace on Monday, March 9th.
