Alfred, NY -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's soccer team returned to action on Tuesday evening, hitting the road to take on Alfred State. The Panthers fell behind the Pioneers and were not able to jumpstart their offense, ultimately losing the contest 5-0.
The hosts started on the attack, forcing Pitt-Bradford goalkeeper Josie Orinko into a save in the first minute of play. They continued to press, missing the net with a pair of shots before they opened the scoring in the 12th minute. The Pioneers beat the offside trap with a late runner, who ran onto a through pass, played a low cross to the backside for an easy finish. The Panthers had the next two chances, but Tessa Duchi's shot was blocked, and Ellie Yeager missed the net.
Orinko made a tough save, which resulted in a corner in the 27th minute and the second Alfred State goal. On the restart, Orinko was unable to catch the cross, and it bounced just over the line before the Panthers could clear it away from the goal. Three minutes later, the Pioneers pushed their lead to three. The Panthers' defense got caught with a high line, and the hosts went on the fast break with one through ball. The Panther defender was not able to catch the Pioneer attacker, who slid a shot into the corner of the net. Duchi put the Panthers' first shot on net in the 40th minute, but it was easily caught in the Alfred State goal.
After an early Alfred State shot in the second half, Duchi was able to put another shot on target, forcing a save from distance. Three minutes after the restart, the Pioneers struck again against the new Pitt-Bradford keeper, Madelyn Seeley. The defense was caught with another long pass over the top, and the Alfred State attacker collected the ball, stepped back, and fired into the far corner. The hosts added their fifth goal in the 63rd minute with another breakaway finish. Seeley was able to settle in after allowing two goals in the half, and kept the deficit at 5 with five saves over the final 25 minutes of play. The Panthers pushed forward late, but were caught offside 3 times, stopping the attacks.
Tessa Duchi led the Panthes with 3 shots in the game, putting 2 of them on target. Ellie Yeager also attempted a shot, but missed wide. Josie Orinko started in goal for the Panthers and made 2 saves. Madelyn Seeley played the second half, making 5.
The Panthers fall to 1-6 on the season with a 0-2 mark to begin AMCC play. They will return home this weekend, when they host perennial AMCC power Pitt-Greensburg. Kickoff is slated for 4:00 p.m. at Rathburn Family Field.
