Swannanoa, NC -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's lacrosse team returned to a North Carolina pitch for their final spring break game on Thursday, taking on the Warren Wilson Owls. The Panthers showed confidence early, jumping out to a 5-0 lead, before eventually winning 17-7.
Despite losing the opening draw, the Panthers opened the scoring after 50 seconds with an Olivia Garcia goal. She got possession after a quick turnover caused by Makartnee Mortimer and an assist from Addison Molampy. Within a minute, the Panthers doubled the lead. Aryanna Hatch caused a turnover off the draw, and then, after Pitt-Bradford cleared the ball, she assisted Haley Carlo to extend the lead to 2. Pitt-Bradford maintained an aggressive playstyle, pestering the Warren Wilson goalie with rapid shots whenever they had the chance. The Owls managed to hold off the UPB offense for most of the opening period until Addison Molampy slipped a shot through for a solo goal with 3:36 on the clock.
After the Panthers killed off a 2-minute penalty to begin the second, they went on the attack, forcing two Warren Wilson saves before Molampy added her second of the game off a pass from Samantha Burke. 24 seconds later, Carlo added her brace with an assist from Hatch. The hosts battled back over the final minutes of the half, scoring once with 7 minutes left, and twice in the final minute to end the half with Pitt-Bradford leading 5-3.
After the break, the Panthers regained their early momentum, scoring twice within 3 mintues of the restart. Hatch scored the first on an unassisted goal at 13:10, and then Garcia found the net for her 2nd of the game on a pass by Burke. Addison Molamy recorded her 2nd hattrick in as many games, a few minutes later. Just after the restart, Molly Wampler joined the scoresheet with an unassisted goal. The hosts won the next draw and forced goalie Lily Thuman into a save before Pitt-Bradford countered, and Garcia scored her second of the game on a pass from Carlo. The Owls slowed the rally with a goal, but the Panthers would score two more before the end of the quarter. Molampy recorded her fourth goal with an assist from Carlo, and then turned provider, feeding Burke for the Panthers' 12th goal of the game.
Molampy opened the final period with an unassisted goal in under a minute to extend the lead to 9. After Warren Wilson pulled two back, Molampy found Hatch for a goal to end the hosts' run. Molampy took over from there, scoring two more unassisted goals in the period, before assisting Carlo for Pitt-Bradford's final tally. The hosts would finish the game with a goal in the final seconds.
Addison Molampy dominated for the Panthers, scoring 7 goals on 12 shots. She also assisted 4 other Panther goals and 2 caused turnovers. Haley Carlo and Olivia Garcia each scored 3 goals, while Carlo added 2 assists. Aryanna Hatch registered 2 goals and 2 assists. Molly Wampler and Samantha Burke also scored in the win. Makartnee Mortimer led the team with 3 caused turnovers. Lily Thuman was credited with 7 saves, while Brooke George finished the game in net with a single save.
This triumph will push the Panthers' record to 4-3 on the season. The Panthers will return home for one more road match at Elmira on Wednesday, Mar. 18th, before finally returning home for a game against Thiel on the 21st.
