MEADVILLE, Pa. - Visiting Westminster used a pair of goals midway through the second half to pull away for a 4-1 non-conference win over the Gators at a rainy Robertson Athletic Complex.
Though the shots were even and the Gators held the advantage in possession time for much of the match, the Titans scored three of their four goals on long blasts from over 20 yards out to remain undefeated (7-0-1) on the season.
After a back-and-forth opening 10 minutes of play, the Titans struck first, when Rachel Simko put in a corner kick from Keely Birsic to make it 1-0 11:18 into play.
The Gators quickly answered back, as senior
Brianna Layman sprung sophomore
Sarah Donohue with a long pass near midfield. Donohue got past the defense and beat the Titan keeper one on one for her first goal of the season to tie the game at 1-all in the 16th minute.
The tie was short-lived, however, as the Titans took a 2-1 lead just two 90 seconds later, when Rachael Pusateri gathered a quick pass from Simko and sent in a blast that snuck just underneath the crossbar with 27:25 left in the half.
Play evened back out over the duration of the first half, with the final two Westminster shots coming from over 20 yards out, and both were blocked.
The Gators best chance to tie the game came with just under nine minutes left in the half, but a header from Layman off of a
Lauren Miller corner kick went just wide.
The Titans maintained the 2-1 lead at halftime, and though they held an 11-7 advantage in shots, three sailed well past the mark, and two others were blocked.
After
Tara Lynch turned aside a Pusateri shot five minutes into the second half, the Gators looked to even the score, possessing the ball deep inside of the Westminster third for the next several minutes. An attempt on the doorstep by
Isabella Martinez was blocked, setting up a corner kick, but the Gators couldn't cash in on the opportunity.
Following the Allegheny set piece, Westminster quickly advanced down the field, and took a 3-1 lead when Pusateri again scored on a long blast from 25 yards out with 25 minutes left in regulation.
Westminster closed out the game's scoring with another long range shot with 17:39 remaining, this time by Sammy Creese, assisted by Melissa Thomas.
Over the final 15 minutes of play, the Gators seized control, posting the last six shots of the game, but were kept off the board.
The Titans owned a slim 17-16 advantage in shots for the game, but the Gators had four corner kicks to Westminster's two.
Hannah Eisemann led the Gators with four shots, while Donohue and Martinez each tallied three.
Allegheny will return to action on Saturday, October 3, traveling to Springfield, Ohio to open up North Coast Athletic Conference play with a 5 p.m. match against Wittenberg.
