Alfred, NY -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's lacrosse team took on Alfred State on Tuesday night, looking to secure a regular-season title and the top seed in the AMCC Championship Tournament. Unfortunately, the Panthers fell behind 6-1 in the first half and could not catch the hosts, falling 10-5.
The hosts maintained possession early in the game and had a few chances to open the scoring; however, Lilly Thuman kept them off the board, making three saves in the first 7 minutes of play. The Pioneers finally opened the scoring halfway through the half, converting a free position shot to go ahead 1-0. With 3 minutes left in the quarter, the Panthers evened the game, scoring with a player in the penalty box. Addison Molampy picked up a ground ball, sprinted around the defense, and bounced a shot into the goal to even the score. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not hold off the Pioneers before the quarter ended, as the hosts scored again with just under 2 minutes left in the period.
4 minutes into the second quarter, Alfred State took advantage of a Panther major penalty to score three unanswered goals. They scored the first on a free position shot before adding two more through open play before the non-releasable penalty expired. The Panthers nearly made it to halftime with the deficit at four, but the hosts added one more in the final seconds of the half. After a Panther foul, the Pioneers converted another free-position shot to take a 6-1 lead into the break.
The Panthers struck first after the restart, scoring within 90 seconds of the beginning of the quarter. Olivia Garcia found space in the middle of the Alfred State defense, where she was picked out by Aryanna Hatch. Garcia caught the pass and quickly bounced a shot into the net. The hosts answered the goal a few minutes later, but the Panthers were able to cut the lead to 3 with two in a row. With 7:39 left in the quarter, Aryanna Hatch scored her 13th of the season. After a restart, Molampy found Hatch streaking toward the goal from the top of the offensive zone. Hatch caught the pass and shot to the far post in one motion to cut the deficit to four. Two minutes later, Samantha Burke scored with a Pioneer in the penalty box to cut further into the lead. After a missed free-position shot, Garcia restarted play and passed to Burke next to the goal. The freshman midfielder squeezed a shot past the goalie at the near post to put the Panthers down three. Alfred State was able to push the lead back to four before the end of the quarter, scoring with 1:20 on the clock with a player advantage.
The hosts tacked on another goal following another Pitt-Bradford penalty, and then extended their lead to 6 with 11:24 remaining. After Thuman made a save after the restart, Burke scored her second of the game. She picked up a pass on the left wing, sprinted past two defenders, and scored with a low shot. The Panthers had two shots saved, and another hit the crossbar in the final minutes, but were unable to score again as the game ended 10-5.
Samantha Burke led the Panthers with 2 goals on 4 shots. Addison Molampy, Olivia Garcia, and Aryanna Hatch each scored a goal and also registered an assist. Lily Thuman made 14 saves in the loss.
The Panthers fall to 9-6 on the season and finish AMCC play with a 3-1 record. They await the final result in Saturday's game between Alfred State and Mount Aloysius to determine their final place in the standings. With a Mount Alysius win, the Panthers clinch the #1 seed due to their tiebreaking win over the Mounties. An Alfred State win will drop the Panthers to 2nd.
Pitt-Bradford will wrap up its regular season tomorrow, as they host Westminster for a non-conference finale. Opening draw is slated for 6:00 p.m.
