Bradford, PA. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford women's soccer team got out to a lightning-quick start against Penn State-New Kensington on Monday evening, scoring 7 times in the first 22 minutes on the way to a 9-0 victory at Rathburn Family Field.
It only took the Panthers 38 seconds to jump into the lead, as Avery Yard opened the scoring on Pi-Bradford's first attack. starting goalkeeper Mackenzie Harmon collected a ball in the box and sent a long punt towards midfield. Rylee Billings won the first header, sending a ball beyond the defense for Yard. She collected the ball on the break and curled a shot into the far corner. 6 minutes later, Pitt-Bradford doubled the lead. Payton Frank blocked an attempted clearance by the Lions and found space down the right wing. She hit a low cross into the box that skipped past a diving goalkeeper to Rylee Billings who calmly passed the ball into the open net.
Just after the 14-minute mark, Yard scored two goals in two minutes to finish off a hat trick. On the first, she collected a pass from Kimberly Goodwin just past midfield, and beat a defender with a spin. She dribbled toward goal and past another defender before unleashing a right-footed shot that curled into the side netting. A few minutes later she expertly controlled a clearance from Makartnee Mortimer, before dribbling through a Penn State-New Kensington center-back, now on the break she dribbled to the goal and chipped a 25-yard shot over the goalkeeper to put the Panthers ahead 4-0.
Pitt-Bradford continued their efficient attack over the next 6 minutes, scoring three more times. Lauren Donnelly pushed the Panther lead to 5 in the 19th. She intercepted a goal kick and played a pass to Goodwin. She continued her run into the box and Goodwin played a pass back to her. Donnelly was able to reach the ball and poke a one-time shot past the oncoming keeper. Billings added her brace in the 21st. A Frank cross was stopped by a Lion defender but bounced right to Billings in the box. Billings took a touch and hit a left-footed shot under the keeper and into the far corner for the 6th. Finally, Emily Gibbons made it 7 under a minute later. She controlled a pass inside the box and took dribbled around until she found enough space to curl a shot into the far netting.
The Panthers slowed their attack after the 7th but were able to add two more goals in the 2nd half. Mackenzie Harmon was replaced in the net by Maddison Coe for the second half and changed uniforms in order to play in the field. After Goodwin had a shot blocked in the 56th minute, she was able to chase down the rebound and tap a pass back to Harmon. The goalkeeper-turned-midfielder found some space and unleashed a long shot from 30 yards that beat the keeper to push the lead to 8th.
The final Panther goal came in the 84th minute. Mya King drew a foul on the right wing and then lined up the free kick. King hit a curved pass toward the 6-yard box where Gianna Gomez was able to beat the defense to the ball and volley a one-time shot into the net.
The Panthers tallied 23 shots in the game, including 13 on goal. Avery Yard led the way with 3 goals on 4 shots. She increased her goal tally to 5 on the season. Rylee Billings added two goals, her 2nd and 3rd of the season. Gianna Gomez (6), Emily Gibbons (5), and Lauren Donnelly (3) all added to their season goal totals, while Mackenzie Harmon scored her first. Kimberly Goodwin had a pair of assists While Billings, Mya King and Payton Frank all had 1. Harmon and Maddison Coe spli the shutout without facing a shot on target.
The Panthers have won their 5th straight match, heading into AMCC play with a 5-1-1 record. They will have a tough match to start their conference schedule, as they will go on the road to face last year's AMCC runners-up Pitt-Greensburg. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m.
