Pitt women’s lacrosse took on Liberty at home at Highmark Stadium on Wednesday. Their 15-6 victory successfully snapped the Flames’ six-game winning streak.
Coming into this game, head coach Emily Boissonneault knew this matchup wouldn’t be an easy feat for the Panthers.
“Hard work,” Boissonneault said. “Liberty does a really great job of applying a ton of pressure, so we told our team, ‘If you work hard, it’s going to pay off, but you can not take a break.’”
This is Pitt’s first win over Liberty in program history. In the last two matchups, the Flames won 13-7 in 2023 and 20-17 in 2024. Now, the Panthers are the victors, and it’s all part of the growth of the program.
“We know that we are finding success and growing. Even last year, not seeing that in the win-loss column, we could still feel it,” Boissonneault said. “For us, today was a positive tick that I think the outside world can see our growth and positive change.”
Pitt has seen a lot of that success so far this season, defeating Big Ten in-state rivals Penn State and holding tough opponents such as Virginia Tech and No. 8 Stanford to close final scores.
Sophomore attacker Avery Moon knows the game isn’t a one-sided skill set. This offseason consisted of work on all fronts, shaping each player into this efficient Pitt team.
“I guess really everything,” Moon said when asked about what the team focused on improving. “Team chemistry, staying composed and not rushing, working through our actions and getting our offense down. Same with defense, really just building on our skills and abilities.”
Senior midfielder Jill Fenech noticed this team is simply different from her three other seasons on Pitt’s roster.
“Chemistry’s a huge thing. We’ve been playing with each other for two, three, if not four years now — that makes a difference,” Fenech said. “We also have a lot of depth this year, which I think is amazing. It’s amazing to have people being able to go in and not just hold their own but cause turnovers and game-changing plays. It’s so huge for us.”
With plenty of season left, there’s always room for improvement. The team knows there are some of the things they want to work on, along with some highly anticipated opponents ahead.
“We wanna see possession on offense be managed a little better,” Boissonneault said. “In the first quarter, it was a little rough, but we were kind of able to progress into the second, third and fourth where we really took it away. We want to see that possession into high-quality shots. We’re excited for every game that comes, especially with the progression we’ve had just this season.”
“I think any ACC game is really exciting,” Fenech said. “We know we’re in a really great conference and it makes all the games fun. Especially this year that we’ve been so competitive makes them even more exciting.”
In only its fourth program year, many still view Pitt as the underdog in most matchups. Doubters consider the Panthers a young and easy opponent. Pitt welcomes this, eager and ready to prove those naysayers wrong.
“We can beat anyone if we play our game,” Moon said. “We’re good enough to compete in the ACC, and we want to prove we belong here.”
“I want them to see us as the underdog,” Boissonneault said. “I think it’s great. It puts us in a really fired-up position. I think our team buys into it. They believe in it. Just like the city, we consider ourselves super blue collar. We want the work, and we like the work.”
The Panthers continue their stay at home with their next matchup set for Saturday at 11 a.m. against No. 6 Syracuse. The game will be held at Highmark Stadium.