Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's lacrosse team returned to action at Rathburn Family Field on Wednesday night, hosting Elmira in their final tune-up before AMCC play. The Panthers soundly defeated the Soaring Eagles 17-8, earning the program's first-ever home victory.
The Panthers jumped out to an early lead, quickly scoring the game's first three goals. After Evan Hawley missed a shot wide, Ben Byers picked up a loose ball and fired past the goalie to put Pitt-Bradford in front after 4 minutes. Just over a minute later, midfielder Reid Kristufek picked up a ground ball at midfield, sprinted through the Elmira defense, and shot into the net for the second goal of the game. The Panthers lost the ensuing faceoff but regained possession and went ahead 3-0 with an Evan Hawley goal just 36 seconds after the second. The Panther offense slowed down for the remainder of the quarter, as Elmira scored at the 8-minute mark, and then kept Pitt-Bradford off the board for the remainder of the period.
Pitt-Bradford took full control of the match in the second, outscoring the Soaring Eagles 6-2 in the quarter. Kristufek got the Panthers back on the board after two minutes of action, pulling off a give-and-go with David De La Teja before firing a shot to the goalie's left for his second of the game. After Elmira countered, Giles picked up a groundball of the faceoff and passed to Kristufek who entered the offensive end at top speed. Kristufek received the pass and fired into the goal to complete his hat trick.
At the 9-minute mark, Billy Tigar extended the Panther lead to 4. Byers caught a pass from Julian Florez before beginning a slalom run through the defense. He drew the last defender away from the goal and then found Tigar, who caught the pass and slipped a shot into the goal. AJ Nardi scored next for the Panthers with 7:12 left in the half. After entering the attacking end late on a substitution, Nardi took a pass from De La Teja and ripped a long shot past the keeper for his first career goal.
The Panthers went on the man advantage with 4:01 to go and converted the situation into their 8th goal of the contest. Tigar collected a loose ball and passed to Kristufek at the top of the zone. The midfielder collected and quickly fired into the goal, scoring his 4th. Just over a minute later, Nardi doubled his tally. He passed to Tigar behind the net and then continued his run towards the goal. Tigar fed the ball back to NArdi just in front of the crease, who slipped a shot into the goal. Elmira recaptured some momentum, scoring with just over a minute left, sending the game to halftime with Pitt-Bradford ahead 9-3.
Pitt-Bradford continued to exert their dominance in the second half. They started the third quarter slowly but extended their lead with two goals over the first 10 minutes of the period. Ben Byers scored the first with a solo effort at 11:25 before AJ Nardi knocked a loose ball in the crease past the goalie to push the lead to 8. The Soaring Eagles responded with a quick goal after the restart, but the Panthers scored three times in the final two minutes of the quarter. De La Tea found Evan Hawley alone behind the defense for the first before Kristufek tallied his 5th of the contest with a shot from distance. Just 10 seconds later, Pitt-Bradford drew an Elmira penalty and took advantage of the foul. De La Teja passed to Kristufek who quickly returned the ball back to De La Teja. The freshman attacker collected the pass and fired from the top of the zone into the goal.
In the 4th, the Panthers saw out the win, scoring three more times. Byers scored a minute into the period, taking a pass from Hawley before placing a bounced shot between the goalie's legs and into the goal. A minute later, Billy Tigar scored to extend the lead to 12. Julian Florez collected a pass in the defensive end and sprinted upfield. He beat four Elmira defenders on the run before finding Tigar in front of the net for an easy score. Elmira scored two in a row before Byers concluded the Panthers' scoring. Pitt-Bradford took advantage of a slow change by the Soaring Eagles to outnumber the visitors in the attacking zone. Tigar received a pass in the middle of the field and found Byers streaking to the net. The freshman attacker collected the pass and released a shot over his back shoulder into the top corner for the goal.El mira scored two final goals before the final horn sounded.
Reid Kristufek led Pitt-Bradford, scoring 5 times on 5 shots. he also added an assist. Ben Byers finished with 4 goals and an assist, while A.J. Nardi recorded a hat trick with 3 goals. Evan Hawley and Billy Yigar added two goals each, while David De La Teja scored once and tallied 3 assists. Evan Stack (2-2) made 8 saves in the win. Leo Sowinski and Nolan Walsh also played in the final quarter, making 2 and 1 save respectively.
The victory moves Pitt-Bradford to 3-5 on the season. They will kick off AMCC play over the weekend when they travel to Hilbert. The game is scheduled for a 1:00 p.m. start.
