ERIE, Pa. – A second half surge of offensive production propelled the Pitt-Bradford women's soccer team past conference-foe Penn State Behrend, 3-1, on Wednesday afternoon. The Lady Panthers tallied all three markers in the second period.
Pitt-Bradford (9-4, 3-1) allowed the Lions an early goal in the 13th minute of action. The Panthers responded well on both sides of the ball and used the late momentum to swing the score in their favor.
Junior Maggie Boehler led the Panthers offensive attack with three shots and one goal. Sophomore Melissa Smith was close behind with two shots and one goal as well. Senior Casey Schimpf used her lone shot of the match connect on the equalizer minutes into the second half.
Defensively, freshman net minder Sarah Dailey turned in another stellar performance, collecting six saves on 18 shots taken by Penn State Behrend (8-4-1, 2-2). She allowed the only Lions marker in the 13th minute off a header from Jordan Oberlander that was a put-back off the crossbar.
Coming out of the locker room for the second 45 minutes, it didn't take long for Schimpf to connect. Junior Sarah Turner was credited with the assist as Schimpf buried a floating shot from the top of the box. The goal evened the score, although momentarily.
Five minutes later, Boehler scored on an unassisted shot in a one versus one situation with the goalkeeper after beating the defender. She placed the ball in the lower left 90 of the net for the go-ahead marker.
Then with 40 seconds remaining in regulation, Smith scored her AMCC-best 14th goal of the season to put the game away. After beating the goalie, she placed the ball in a wide open net to seal the victory.
"Another solid performance in league play for our team," said head coach Mike Idland. "I thought we showed real maturity in the way that we steadily and methodically chipped away at the game, especially after going down a goal."
Pitt-Bradford is back on the grass on Saturday, Oct. 11. The Lady Panthers travel to face Mount Aloysius in Cresson, Pa., at 1 p.m.
