Pitt
4-3 (1-2)
California
2-4 (0-3)
Panthers Close Strong For First ACC Win of 2025
3/8/2025 4:30:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
PITTSBURGH – It took almost three years, but Pitt Lacrosse grabbed their second ACC win all-time Saturday, as the Panthers defeated Cal 7-6 at Highmark Stadium.
"We're really proud of the girls," said Head Coach Emily Boissonneault postgame. "We've been fighting for our first ACC win this year after losing a close one to Virginia Tech and competing against Stanford. We were able to refocus in on ourselves and what we're good at during halftime, and that helped us finish the game out."
Pitt opened up the scoring just over a minute in, as Sydney Naylor scored her 20th of the season off a feed by fellow senior Jenna Hendrickson. That proved to be the only goal by the hosts in the opening half of play, a half that was a defensive struggle that saw Cal win the draw control battle 8-0. The Pitt defense stood strong to limit the deficit and the Golden Bears took the 5-1 lead into the halftime break.
Adjustments were needed at the intermission and those adjustments paid off. The Panthers swung the draw control numbers on their head, grabbing nine in the second half to Cal's zero. Pitt used those possessions to chip away starting in the third period of play. Hendrickson scored to begin the comeback, followed by successive goals by Sydney Naylor and Jill Fenech. The final ten minutes in the third quarter were scoreless, but allowed the Panthers to head to the final 15 minutes of play with only a one goal deficit.
In the fourth, the Panthers continued to pressure the visitors from the west coast and scored the first two goals of the period to take the 6-5 lead. Avery Moon netted her eleventh of the season and Kara Trullender scored her fourth this year to take the first Panther lead since 1-0. Cal scored their only goal of the second half with just under four minutes remaining in regulation, but Pitt countered less than a minute later. Paige Telatovich recorded her first assist of her sophomore campaign and Fenech converted to retake the lead. The Pitt defense stood tough again and held firm the final 3:04 to preserve the second ACC win in program history.
Along with the fight on the circle, Pitt dominated the ground ball game (22-14) and goalie Molly Cain stopped 10 Golden Bear shots to assist the defense in slowing down their ACC foes. Defender Abby Thorne picked up six ground balls, tied for the single-game Panther record.
Pitt will take their two-game winning streak back on the field Wednesday, as the Liberty Flames come to town for a non-conference contest at Highmark Stadium. Admission is free and first draw is scheduled for 4 PM.
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