Pittsburgh, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's soccer team returned to action on Saturday with a road matchup with Chatham. The Panthers fell behind early and ultimately lost the match 6-0.
The hosts struck quickly, forcing goalkeeper Madelyn Seeley into an early save and then opening the scoring in the 4th minute on a shot that was deflected in front of the goal and found the net inside the near post. Chatham continued to press the Panthers after the opener, forcing two more saves from Seeley in the next 10 minutes of action, while also being caught offside 3 times. Just before the 20th minute, the Cougars doubled their lead, and then 8 minutes later, beat Seeley for their third. They would go on to tack on another goal with 5 minutes left in the half.
In the second half, the Panthers subbed Josie Orinko for Seeley, but the Cougars still found early success, adding to their lead 3 minutes after the restart. The Panthers were finally able to break some of the pressure in the 50th minute, moving the ball into the offensive zone. Freshmen Tessa Duchi and Ellie Yeager each put shots on goal, but saw their efforts blocked. 10 minutes later, Chatham scored one final time to make the score 6-0. Over the final 30 minutes of play, the Panthers kept the Cougars off the board while mustering 5 shots, 4 of them on target. The best chance of the day for the Panthers came in the 84th minute. Gianna Gomez sent a free kick toward the back post, where Kaylee Leeper was able to beat the Chatham defender and keeper to the ball. Her headed effort flew towards the top corner but hit the post and bounced away.
Madelyn Seeley and Josie Orinko split the game in the Panther net. Seeley made 7 saves on 11 shots, while Orinko stopped 5 shots out of 7. The Panthers tallied 7 shots in the game, putting 6 on target. Tessa Duchi and Ellie Yeager each put both of their shots on target, while Gianna Gomez forced a save on 1 out of 2 shots.
The loss drops Pitt-Bradford to 1-1 on the season. They will return home for their next contest, hosting Houghton on Tuesday. The game will begin at 7:00 p.m. on Rathburn Family Field.
