Pitt Falls to No. 2 Boston College at Highmark Stadium

Saturday, March 26

Pittsburgh, PA

1:00 PM

Pitt

9-1, 3-1

Boston College

5-6, 0-5

Boston College

Pitt

Pitt Falls to No. 2 Boston College at Highmark Stadium

3/26/2022 3:53:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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PITTSBURGH – Pitt jumped out to an early first quarter lead and battled throughout before falling to No. 2 Boston College, 19-12, Saturday afternoon at Highmark Stadium. Madisyn Kittell matched a career high with four goals and Paige Petty added four points (2G, 2A) to pace the Panther offensive attack.

"I think at the end of the day people have been impressed with us as a starting program, but at this point our team doesn't want to be remembered as just a starting program that competes," said Head Coach Emily Boissonneault. "We are clearly strong enough to play with some of the best teams in the country. Our message to the team after the game was that we want more, we want ours and it's time to step up and close that gap."

Boston College, the 2021 NCAA Champions, was led by Jenn Medjid (6G, 1A), Belle Smith (5G, 1A) and 2021 Tewaaraton Trophy winner Charlotte North (4G, 1A).

After falling behind 1-0, Pitt rattled off five consecutive goals to grab an early lead in the first quarter. Kittell matched an opening goal from Boston College's Charlotte North to tie the game 1-1 with 10:03 left in the opening quarter. Carlie Leach followed up with a free position goal with 9:21 and Petty added an unassisted goal at 8:07 to give the Panthers a 3-1 lead.

Petty fed Emily Coughlin for her fifth goal of the season at the 6:14 mark and Kate Elam added her 19^th goal less than a minute later to give Pitt a four-goal advantage. Smith found the back of the net twice in the final five minutes of the quarter for Boston College to trim the Pitt lead to 5-3.

The Panthers regained the four-goal advantage with a pair of goals in a 12 second span early in the second quarter. Maureen McNierney scored an unassisted goal at 13:16 and Kittell scored off a pass from Leach off the ensuing draw control to push the lead to 7-3. Boston College responded with a five-goal run to grab an 8-7 lead with 43 seconds remaining in the half, before Leach evened the game at 8-8 with an unassisted goal with 13 seconds remaining.

Smith scored the first two goals of the third quarter to give BC a 10-8 advantage before Kittell recorded a quick-stick goal off a feed from Petty in front of the cage while getting leveled by a BC defender. The Eagles moved ahead 12-9 on goals from North and Medjid before Elam bounced in a goal with 2:49 remaining to trim the deficit to two goals. Boston College closed the quarter with a pair of goals in the final 92 seconds of play to take a four-goal advantage into the final quarter.

Petty got Pitt on the board first in the fourth off a terrific face dodge to the right side of the scoring area before shoveling the ball past goalie for her second goal of the game. The four-time All-America selection has now registered at least one point in 72 consecutive games, including an active 39-game goal scoring streak. She leads the Panthers on the season in goals (26) and points (32).

Boston College put the game out of reach with the next three goals to take a 17-11 advantage with just under 10-minutes left in the contest. The Panthers continued to fight back and Kittell found the back of the net for the fourth time after a double-spin move past BC defender before she skipped a shot by the goalie at the 6:17 mark. Pitt would get no closer as North and Medjid added goals in the final four minutes.

Panther goalie, Paulina DiFatta, recorded 10 saves, 3 caused turnovers, and 6 ground balls. It was her fourth game this season with at least 10 saves. Freshman Jill Fenech grabbed 7 draw controls helping the Panthers win the first quarter draw control battle, 5-3.

"We played a hard three quarters and let it get away from us," Boissonneault said. "I really believe in this team and if we can put a full sixty minutes together, I think the outcome for a lot of these games shifts in our direction."

Pitt is now 5-6 on the season, including a 0-5 mark in ACC play. The Panthers have dropped three games to top-10 opponents and a pair of one-goal defeats in conference action. Boston College improved to 9-1 overall and 3-1 in the ACC.