MEADVILLE, Pa. – First-year Emily Orr's first collegiate goal, scored in the 19th minute, proved to be all the offense that Allegheny would need, as the Gators topped visiting Chatham 1-0 in non-conference action at Frank B. Fuhrer Field.
 
An aggressive Chatham (2-1) squad out-shot Allegheny (2-2) 20-9 on the afternoon, but Allegheny keeper Maya Hackman turned in nine saves to earn her second shutout win in as many games, and fourth of her career.
 
Hackman was tested early, making three saves between the 10th and 14th minutes, but the Gators would draw first blood.
 
Just over 16 minutes into the half, the Gators' Taylor Renk had a sustained possession deep into Chatham territory. Renk attracted a host of Chatham defenders who attempted to direct her to the end line.  She was able to thwart the pressure and send a ball through the defense into the box, where it found a streaking Orr, who directed it just inside the right post for her first collegiate goal.
 
Chatham would then have the better of the possession over the next several minutes, but the Gator defense kept the Cougars off the board. In the 21st minute, a corner kick led to a pair of Cougar shots, but one was blocked and another went wide.
 
The Gators' final scoring chance of the opening stanza came in the 40th minute, but Isabella Martinez's crack went just wide.  With less than a minute left, a Chatham corner kick led to a chance in front, but Hackman smothered a shot from in close to keep the lead at 1-0 at the intermission.
 
Chatham closed the half with a 10-4 advantage in shots, while Hackman maintained the clean sheet with five first half saves.
 
The Cougars went on the attack to start the second half, posting four shots in the first three minutes. The first hit the crossbar, while Hackman made a pair of saves, including a diving stop to her right to rob Breanna Oltman in the 47th minute.
 
The teams traded chances over the middle stages of the half, with the Gators' Shannon McGuinn twice narrowly missing, insurance opportunities. On the other end of the field, the Allegheny defense thwarted four Chatham corner kicks, with Hackman smothering three of the entries.
 
Allegheny's final chance to add insurance came in the 83rd minute. A blast from Kelli Gaus off of a Martinez corner kick was blocked, before Renk's attempt off the rebound from in front clanged off the crossbar.
 
The Gators would then keep Chatham at bay over the final five minutes to hold on to the one-goal victory.
 
Chatham again doubled-up the Gators in shots over the final 45 minutes by a 10-5 margin, with Hackman making four second half saves.
 
McGuinn led Allegheny with four shots, while the other five were taken by five different players. 
 
Victoria Vernail had six of Chatham's 20 attempts, while Megan Sieg had five.  Cougar keeper Ashley Bergman made one save.
 
The Gators return to action on Sept. 11 with a 7:00 p.m. non-conference match at John Carroll.