Pittsburgh, PA -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's soccer team traveled to Pittsburgh on Saturday to take on LaRoche in their AMCC opener. The Panthers fell behind late in the first half and ultimately fell 3-1 to the Redhawks.
The Panthers maintained possession early in the game and kept the hosts pinned in their end for the majority of the half. Tessa Ducchi put four first-half shots on target, but was not able to beat the Redhawk keeper. Pitt-Bradford had two excellent chances late in the half, but were not able to find the net. In the 36th, Ellie Yeager possessed the ball on the left flank and beat her defender into the box. She slid a left-footed shot past the onrushing keeper, but watched it finish just outside the far post for a goal kick. 5 minutes later, Gianna Gomez looped a shot from 20 yards toward the goal. Her effort was knocked in the air by the LaRoche keeper, and Alexis Rohr was first to the rebound in the box. Unfortunately, she could not control it, and her shot missed high. The Panthers would rue the missed chances a minute later. LaRoche took advantage of a misplaced pass from the goalkeeper and switched into attack. The two Redhawk forwards played a give-and-go and then beat Madelyn Seeley to the far post to open the scoring on just their first shot of the game.
After the break, the hosts continued to build momentum, hitting the post in the first minute of the half and earning two corners. Unfortunately, the Panthers could not clear the second, and after a header was deflected around the 6-yard box, it found the foot of a LaRoche attacker who fired into the top corner to double the lead. They continued to attack after the second, but Seeley was able to make three straight saves to keep the deficit at two. With 10 minutes to go, the Panthers were finally able to get on the board. Yeager found Cheyne Pitcher running beyond the defense, to go on the break. Pitcher tried a long shot to catch the keeper out of her net, but could not make good contact with the shot, missing wide. 30 seconds later, Yeager stole the ball on the back line and attempted a cross to the front post. Her shot could not find a Pitt-Bradford attacker, but ricocheted into the goal off a defender to cut the lead in half. The Panthers had a penalty shout in the final five minutes, but the collision in the box was deemed to be fair play. A few minutes later, LaRoche was given a free kick 30 yards from goal, and took advantage. The Redhawk player placed a shot into the upper corner to restore the two-goal lead and put the game away.
Tessa Duchi led the Panthers with 4 shots on goal. Ellie Yeager missed the net with a few shots and had the crucial cross on the own goal. Madelyn Seeley made 5 saves in the loss.
The Panthers fall to 1-5 with a 0-1 record in AMCC play after the loss. They will return to action on Tuesday with another AMCC road match at Alfred State. Kickoff is slated for 6:00 p.m.
