Bradford, PA – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's lacrosse team returned to Rathburn Family Field for their home match against the Alfred University Saxons. The Panthers entered play on a five-match winning streak, but saw it come to an end with a 17-1 loss.
The contest was not the only part of the day, as the team also celebrated its first competitive season and honored the roots of the sport, specifically its place in the culture of the nearby Seneca Nation of Indians. A pregame ceremony included a speech by President Richard Esch, while the program also continued to sell t-shirts to benefit the No More Stolen Sisters cause. At halftime, the program welcomed an on-field performance by IndigiRoots, a dance performance group from the Allegany Territory of the Seneca Nation of Indians.
Alfred maintained possession for the majority of the opening period, but Panther Goalie Lily Thuman was able to keep the Saxons off the board, making three early saves. The dam finally gave way for the Panthers at the 6:05 mark when Alfred successfully cleared the ball into the offensive and quickly found the opener. They continued to dominate possession after the first goal and quickly added 3 more to their tally in a 61-second span. Before the quarter came to an end, the Panthers were able to pull a goal back. Christina Abel caught a pass from Thuman on the left flank and sprinted into the offensive zone. She swerved around the defense, found space for a shot, and calmly finished into the far side of the goal.
The Panthers kept the deficit at three for the first four minutes of the second quarter, but eventually lost their discipline and were called for a pair of penalties. The Saxons took advantage, scoring their 5th of the game with 10:24 left. They continued to control possession for the remainder of the penalty, and then tacked on another shortly after the advantage ended. They tacked on two more woman-up goals in the quarter and added their 9th with just 16 seconds remaining in the half.
The visitors picked right up where they left off in the 2nd half, using a Pitt-Bradford penalty to score a goal after 50 seconds in the third, and then pushed their lead into double digits with their 11th of the game coming right off the draw. They tacked on another goal with 12 minutes left in the quarter and scored twice in the period from free position shots, sending the game to its final stanza with a 14-1 lead.
Pitt-Bradford opened the final quarter winning draw control due to a violation, but lost control quickly, leading to another Alfred goal. The Saxons scored two more goals about five minutes later, the first of which came from a free-position shot. The Panthers managed to keep Alfred at bay for the remainder of the match, finishing the game with the score 17-1.
Christina Abel found the solo Panther goal from 4 shots as well as 6 ground balls, 3 draw controls, and 1 caused turnover. Aryanna Hatch matched Abel in draw controls with 3, along with 4 ground balls. Lily Thuman picked up the loss in the Panther net, but was credited with 9 saves and 5 ground balls.
This loss brings Pitt-Bradford's record to 6-4. The Panthers' next game will be on Wednesday, April 1st, when they host Wilson College. Opening draw is set for 6:00 p.m. at Rathburn Family Field
