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MEADVILLE, Pa. - Allegheny scored three goals in the first 26 minutes of play and it was more than enough, as the Gators cruised to a 4-0 victory over visiting Pitt-Bradford at the Roberston Athletic Complex.
The win lifts the Gators to 7-3 on the season as they get set to enter conference play, while Pitt-Bradford falls to 6-3.
Allegheny wasted little time getting on the board, as just 2:43 into play,
Greta Hilbrands scored her first goal of the season, getting off a hard shot from 10 yards out after a quick turn to give the Gators a prompt 1-0 lead.
After maintaining possession for the next several minutes, Allegheny added onto the lead at the 25:16 mark. Seconds after checking into the game,
Sarah Sherwood put a shot toward the net. The ball deflected to the waiting foot of
Tori Delzer, who sent it home for her first goal of the year to give the Gators a 2-0 lead.
Less than 90 seconds later, the Gators scored yet again, when
Sarah Donohue gathered a ball near midfield. She streaked toward the goal, dribbled through a defender, and buried the shot from 20 yards out for her second tally of the season to make the score 3-0 with 17:03 left in the opening stanza.
The Gators continued to press, and came perilously close to adding a fourth goal just a minute later. A perfect corner kick from
Brianna Layman went right to the head of a leaping
Hannah Zangara in traffic on the doorstep, but Panther goalkeeper Sarah Dailey made a sprawling save, and the score would remain 3-0 as the game entered halftime.
The first half was arguably the Gators' best of the season, as in addition to the offense providing three early goals, the defense held Pitt-Bradford without a shot until the 40th minute, when the Panthers sent a pair of long attempts wide. Allegheny owned a 7-2 advantage in shots over the opening 45 minutes, and held Pitt-Bradford without a corner kick.
The teams traded possession over the opening stages of the second half, before the Gators had another strong scoring chance in the 56th minute. A blast from
Liana Leja from in close rang off the crossbar, with the rebound coming right to Delzer, but Dailey was able to come up with another save from point-blank range.
Allegheny would wrap up the day's scoring with 20:10 remaining in regulation. After
Faith Robinson was pulled down streaking for the net, the Panthers were whistled for the foul, setting up a Gator free kick from just outside the box. Junior
Lauren Miller teed up a perfect shot, arching it over the wall and into the upper corner of the net for her second goal of the year to make it 4-0.
Pitt-Bradford saw its best chance of the game in the 72nd minute, as the Panthers got off a pair of shots after a corner, but one was blocked by the Gator defense, and the second was stopped by Curtis to preserve the shutout. The Gators looked to add onto the lead down the stretch, but hit one post and saw Dailey make three more saves over the game's final 15 minutes to keep the score at 4-0.
Allegheny finished the game with a 17-10 advantage in shots, with Curtis making four saves in goal for her fourth shutout of the season. Dailey finished with five saves for Pitt-Bradford.
The Gators will now open North Coast Athletic Conference play on Saturday, traveling to Denison University for a 12 p.m. match.
