BRADFORD, Pa. – Sophomore forward Melissa Smith recorded her third hat-trick in the last four games and the Pitt-Bradford women's soccer team defeated the D'Youville Spartans, 6-1, on Tuesday at the Kessel Athletic Complex.
Pitt-Bradford (11-4, 5-1) dominated the Spartans from the first whistle until the clock expired after 90 minutes of play. The Lady Panthers never trailed and missed the shutout by a narrow margin.
Pitt-Bradford outshot the Spartans 18-13 during the contest and freshman goalkeeper Sarah Dailey finished with double-digit saves for the second time this season with 10.
Freshman Haley Russell, junior Jamie Christensen and freshman Abby Celesky each finished with goals to go with Smith's strong performance on the front end of the Panthers' attack. Smith finished with eight total shots, five of which were fired at the keeper, and one assist.
D'Youville (6-4-2, 3-2) had its chances early in the game but failed to connect on a shot until the second half. It was Smith's shot in the 14th minute on a thru ball from senior Casey Schimpf that put the Panthers on the board and gave them the 1-0 lead.
Just minutes before halftime, Russell scored on an unassisted shot to give the Panthers the 2-0 edge heading into the break.
13 minutes into the second half, Smith found the net again, this time on a header off a high ball over the head of the goalkeeper.
The Spartans' Rachel Hermanski scored in the 71st minute to help D'Youville escape the shutout. Emily Zeafla was credited with the assist.
Two minutes later, Smith placed a corner kick perfectly in front of Christensen at the net. Christensen took the opportunity to place the header past the keeper and extend the Panthers lead to 4-1. Barely a minute later and Celesky scored on a long shot that took a high bounce over the goalkeeper who had come away from the net to attempt the save.
With time winding down, Smith scored her final tally of the match to equal the final score. Schimpf was credited with her second assist of the afternoon.
"It's good to pick up another three points," said head coach Mike Idland. "I thought the team showed both clinical finishing ability and killer instinct to seal the win when the game gave us the opportunity to. This game is over, and it's time to go back to work to get the next three points."
Pitt-Bradford travels to face Penn State Altoona on Saturday, Oct. 18. The Lady Panthers square off with the Lions at 1 p.m. in Altoona, Pa.
