Raleigh, NC – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's lacrosse team continued their run of away games on Monday, heading to Raleigh to face off against the William Peace Pacers. The Panthers jumped on the Pacers from the opening whistle, scoring the first 11 goals of the game on the way to a 16-4 victory.
After a contentious beginning to the game with both teams struggling to maintain possession, a Pacers foul opened the opportunity for the first goal of the game for the Panthers. Haley Carlo tallied the goal on an assist from Addison Molampy. A non-releaseable yellow card gave the Panthers a free position shot, which was converted by Christina Abel. The Panthers won the ensuing draw, and Abel slipped a quick pass to Olivia Garcia, who took a quick shot to beat the goalie and put Pitt-Bradford up 3-0. A minute later, the Panthers scored their third goal with a Pacer in the box, as Abel doubled her tally. After the penalty expired, the Panthers continued to dominate possession, outshooting William Peace 11-1 in the period. Before the end of the period, the Panthers scored one final time as Samantha Burke finished an unassisted opportunity to give the Panthers a 5-0 lead after one.
As the second period began, the Panthers picked up right where they left off. Abel won the opening draw, which led to an early barrage of shots from Pitt-Bradford. After two missed the target, Carlo put away the Panthers' sixth goal. 21 seconds later, Garcia converted from a free position to push the lead to 7. With 9:34 left in the half, Carlo completed her hat-trick, scoring off of another assist by Molampy. After picking up a second assist, Molampy got on the scoresheet herself, scoring a solo goal with a Pacer in the penalty box. Less than a minute later, Burke scored her second goal of the game. The Panthers tacked on one final goal of the half, as Abel marked the 11th goal for the Panthers and the team's second hat-trick of the game. The Pacers pulled one back before the halftime whistle, sending the game to the break with Pitt-Bradford ahead 11-1.
After the break, the Panthers resumed the offensive onslaught, scoring 17 seconds after Aryanna Hatch won the opening draw. Isabella Edwards caught a pass from Burke and beat the goalie from close range. Just over a minute later, Burke registered her second assist, this time finding Molampy to extend the lead to 12. Following Molampy's goal, William Peace attempted to gain a little control, but after a series of back-and-forth ground balls, Hatch joined the party, scoring an unassisted goal. The Pacers were able to find the back of the net a minute later, but Burke scored one more goal from a free position shot, putting the Panthers up 15-2 heading into the final period.
Abel tacked on one more goal after 3 minutes of play in the quarter, scoring her fourth goal of the contest. The hosts managed to score two more goals throughout the rest of the period, but couldn't overcome the deficit, leading to a 16-4 final score.
Christina Abel led the Panthers with 4 goals on 8 shots. She also won 3 draws, picked up 4 ground balls, and added an assist. Samantha Burke racked up 8 points in the win, scoring 3 times while assisting on two others. Haley Carlo scored three times, while Addison Molampy and Olivia Garcia each added two. Isabella Edwards and Aryanna Hatch also scored in the victory. Lily Thuman was credited with 4 saves for the Panthers.
The win moves the Panthers to 2-3 on the season. They will continue their Spring Break trip to North Carolina tomorrow, as they will take on Greensboro for their second game in as many days. Opening draw is set for 2:00 p.m.
