PITTSBURGH, Pa. – The RMU women's lacrosse team dropped a 15-10 non-conference matchup against Pitt on Wednesday night in downtown Pittsburgh.
 
FIRST HALF
The teams traded goals to begin the contest as the Panthers struck first at 13:57 before Mia Berthoff got the Colonials on the scoreboard with an unassisted goal on a free position shot with 11:45 left in the first quarter. The Panthers would find the back of the net against, but the lead would be short-lived as the Colonials recorded two unanswered goals, with Berthoff finding the back of the net again at 8:41 before Gabi Puzevic gave the Colonials a 3-2 lead on an unassisted goal with 4:38 left in the quarter. Pitt would add one more goal in the first quarter to make it 3-3 after the first 15 minutes of play.
 
A 2-0 run by the Panthers made it 5-3 to start the second half before Puzevic responded with her second goal of the night to cut the lead down to one with 7:13 to go. Pitt's Kaitlyn Giandonato put together back-to-back goals to make it 7-4 before Taylor Cadeau got in on the action, finding the back of the net off a Berthoff pass to cut the lead down to just two at the end of the second quarter.
 
SECOND HALF
Pitt attacked first in the second half with two goals to open up the third quarter, before Samantha Brothers struck with 5:14 on the clock, sneaking one past the keeper off an assist from Lea Otts to make it 9-6. Pitt would go on to add four more goals in the third quarter, making it 13-6 at the end of three.
 
The duo of Brothers and Otts struck again to start the final frame, with Brothers finding the back of the net off an assist from Otts at 13:45 to make it 13-7. The Panthers would close out their scoring with back-to-back goals from Avery Moon to make it 15-7. The Colonials attempted a comeback, going on a 3-0 run to finish the contest. Berthoff recorded her third goal of the night at 9:12 before Madison Prietz got in on the scoring action with a goal at 7:42 to make it 15-9. Brothers would close out the night with her third goal of the nightcap, once again off an assist from Lea Otts, to bring the final to 15-10 in favor of the Panthers.
 
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Mia Berthoff and Samantha Brothers led the offensive charge for the Colonials, each producing three goals for a hat trick on the night. This marked Berthoff's sixth hat trick of the season, while Brothers posted her first of the year and just the second of her career. Next in line was Gabi Puzevic with two goals on the night, while Taylor Cadeau and Madison Prietz each got one apiece. Lea Otts recorded three assists on the night, all on Brothers' goals. Otts has now recorded eight assists through the Colonials' last three contests. Anabel Kreydt led the Colonials in caused turnovers (4) and groundballs (3).
 
In goal, Lucy Carney was tagged with the loss despite posting double-digit saves, tying a career-high with 14. Carney has now posted double-digit saves in her last three contests and has recorded 89 on the season.
 
For Pitt, Kaitlyn Giandonato and Avery Moon led the Panthers with four goals apiece, while Molly Cain earned the win in goal, allowing 10 goals while recording one save.
 
UP NEXT
RMU women's lacrosse (4-10 overall, 2-3 MAC) will return to conference play on Saturday afternoon as the Colonials travel to Ypsilanti, Michigan, to take on Eastern Michigan (8-6 overall, 3-2 MAC) at 1:00 p.m.