LATROBE, Pa. -- The 2025 season came to an end on Wednesday evening, as the Allegheny College women's lacrosse team fell to Chatham University, 18-8, in the quarterfinal round of the Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) Championship Tournament.

The upset-minded Gators (5-12), the sixth seed in the PAC tournament, got off to a strong start in the first quarter of Wednesday's quarterfinal contest, which was relocated from Chatham's (10-6) home field to Saint Vincent College following a severe thunderstorm and power outage on Tuesday.

Allegheny took a 1-0 lead 33 seconds into the game. Erin Lowthert (Lewisburg, Pa./Lewisburg Area) grabbed the opening draw control, and after one series of passes around the offensive formation, Lauren Petrarca (Simi Valley, Calif./Royal) beat her defender for enough room to shoot a low on the opposing goalie. Chatham, the third seed in the PAC playoffs, managed to even the score at 1-1 less than a minute later, but that was the only goal the Gators allowed in the quarter. Ava Best (Butler, Pa./Butler) netted the go-ahead goal at the 10:41 mark, and Petrarca followed with a natural hat trick that extended into the first minute of the second quarter.

Trailing 5-1, the Cougars shook off the sluggish start in the second quarter. Chatham logged eight of the next nine goals before halftime, including two in the last 32 seconds to jump ahead by three, 9-6.

Petrarca converted a free position attempt 1:32 into the second half that cut the deficit to two goals, but Chatham pieced together another run with four unanswered to end the quarter. After a promising start, the Gators only scored twice in the second half, while the defense was unable to contain the Cougars on the other end of the turf.

Inside the Box Score

• Allegheny outscored Chatham in the first quarter, 4-1, but the Gators were limited to four goals across the final 45 minutes.
• The Gators finished with 23 shots, while the Cougars ended with 33.
• Chatham collected more ground balls, 20-to-13, but Allegheny won more draw controls, 18-to-12.
• Both teams scored two free position goals.
• Petrarca led all Gators with five goals, including both of Allegheny's free position goals.
• Best had three points with two goals and one assist.
• Junior attacker Kendall Cox (Silver Spring, Md./Albert Einstein) netted one goal with one assist.
• Senior attacker Ema Caragein (Pittsburgh, Pa./Seton LaSalle) also dished out one assist.
• Chatham had three players with seven points, including Tessa Hueber (5g-2a), Sam Beall-Dennell (2g-5a), and Bailey Donofrio (4g-3a).

News and Notes

• Petrarca concluded her senior season with 205 career goals, the second-most all-time in program history.
• With five points on Wednesday, Petrarca surpassed Kelsey Rodgers '15 (238) and Senna Perelman '23 (239) for fourth place with 240 career points.