The Panthers visited State College on Wednesday evening in their first-ranked matchup of the season, and it did not disappoint. Coming into the game, both teams were undefeated, and by the final whistle, one was bound to leave with a loss. Penn State had allowed just nine goals in each of its previous three contests, and the Nittany Lions came out humming from the opening draw. It looked like the Panthers had a long night ahead of them. However, Pitt knew going into this game that nothing was easy against Penn State, and that the game wasn’t over until the scoreboard showed double zeros. The Panthers rallied back late, scoring five unanswered in the fourth quarter. But this would prove fruitless for the Panthers, who fell in sudden-death overtime 12-11.

1st quarter

The first quarter was all Penn State, with the Nittany Lions scoring three unanswered in the first five minutes of the game. The Panthers responded shortly after with a goal from junior attacker Avery Moon, cutting the deficit to two. The Panthers continued to struggle early with draw control, proving to play a huge role in the beginning of the match. Penn State continued to maintain possession, and it hurt Pitt as the first quarter continued. Despite the Panthers winning their first draw control of the match with 5:10 left in the first quarter, some missed opportunities on offense led to another Penn State goal at the end of the quarter, making the score 5-1, Penn State.

2nd quarter 

The Panthers improved slightly in the second quarter, with sophomore attacker Gigi Leonzi scoring quickly to make the score 5-2. Shortly afterward, the Nittany Lions won another draw control — leading to a full minute of possession resulting in another goal, making the score 6-2. The Panthers responded with a goal of their own as the shot clock expired halfway through the second quarter. This was Moon’s second goal of the game and her eighth of the season. As the quarter continued, both teams went back and forth with quality defensive play. This came to an end when Penn State senior attacker Emma Kelly scored two goals in less than a minute. Wisely, Pitt took a timeout to ensure the damage didn’t spiral any further. After the timeout, Pitt won the draw and capitalized with a sidearm shot by first-year mid Madeline Mill for her first of the season, making the score 8-4. Two minutes later, despite the Panthers’ efforts to slow Kelly down, she scored her third goal of the quarter, putting Penn State up by five at the half.

3rd quarter

The second half started out strong for the Panthers. Regardless of going down two players due to penalties, they were able to play strong defense, which resulted in quick scores by junior mids Paige Telatovich and Kaitlyn Giandonato, putting the Panthers within three. This sequence was followed by tough defense from Pitt, and it seemed to have all the momentum for the moment. But Penn State answered with a goal of its own with eight minutes left in the third quarter, making it 10-6. After about six minutes of great defense and scrambling from both teams, Penn State capitalized on a free position shot opportunity from junior attacker Delaney Radin, giving Penn State an 11-6 lead heading into the final quarter.

4th quarter

The fourth quarter started out very defensively, with neither team able to score. That stalemate finally ended when Leonzi got things started with a goal to cut the lead to 11-7. Promptly afterward, another draw win for the Panthers led to their second goal of the quarter, scored by first-year attacker Emily Clemens and putting Pitt within three with a little more than 10 minutes left in play. At this point, Pitt held all the momentum, forcing Penn State to call a timeout to try to slow the Panthers down. Despite this smart move, the Panthers didn’t skip a beat, and Telatovich scored her second goal of the match. 

With the momentum clearly in Pitt’s favor and more back and forth between the two teams, Pitt decided to call a timeout in order to maintain possession. The break paid off for the Panthers and resulted in another score by Clemens, bringing the Panthers within one with five minutes remaining. The next three minutes were a physical battle, with neither team wanting their first loss of the season. Pitt continued to apply pressure, resulting in Penn State deciding to call a timeout with two minutes left, maintaining possession. At this point in the game, it was essential for Pitt to put on a defensive stand if they wanted a chance to score. The Panthers did exactly that and retained possession with 47 seconds left in the game and quickly called a timeout. Following the timeout, Penn State committed a costly penalty, which resulted in Pitt being one up on their opponent for the final 30 seconds. Clemens cashed in with her third goal of the game with 11 seconds left on the clock, securing the hat-trick and extending the game into overtime with five unanswered goals by the Panthers. 

Overtime

Going into overtime, the Panthers held all the momentum, despite a tied game. Both teams fought valiantly, but it was Penn State first-year attacker Rocquette Allen who was able to break the tie, scoring in overtime to give Penn State a 12-11 win.

What’s next?

For the Panthers, this is just the beginning of a long and what looks like a very promising season. While they may not have come up a win, they showed they have zero quit, and that’s exactly what Pitt needs in order to keep stacking wins. Pitt’s next matchup is a conference bout against Virginia Tech at home on Sunday, Feb. 22, at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. They look to bounce back from this tough loss and get back in the win column.