Pitt fought back in the fourth period but ultimately fell to Louisville, 12-9, on Sunday afternoon at Cardinal Stadium. With the loss, the Panthers dropped to 3-3 on the season and 0-2 in ACC play.
Louisville out-shot Pitt, 29-28. The Panthers edged Louisville in shots on goal, however, 18-17. The Cardinals had the clear advantage in free position shots (9-2), ground balls (17-12) and caused turnovers (9-6).
Less than a minute into the game, Pitt’s Camdyn O’Donnell ripped one past Louisville goaltender Sara Addeche to put the Panthers up 1-0. Sydney Naylor then put one in the back of the net, her eighth goal of the season. Louisville rebounded with goals from Kokoro Nakazawa, Hannah Morris and Nicole Perroni to take the lead at the 9:40 mark of the first period. Pitt scored two more goals near the end of the period to head into the second with a 4-3 advantage.
To begin the second, Nicole Perroni scored on a free position shot to tie the game at 4-4. The Cardinals then went on a run with four more goals, while the Panthers went scoreless in the period.
Ava Washington stopped the Cardinals’ run with a goal at the 7:46 mark of the third period. However, Negai Nakazawa answered with a score to give Louisville a 9-5 lead heading into the fourth. To begin the final period, Pitt went on a three-goal scoring surge to get within one score. The Panthers got goals from Emily Coughlin, Washington and Naylor. Naylor then scored on a free position shot to tie the game at 9-9 with 8:49 remaining in regulation. It was Naylor’s third goal of the game and the 10th of the season.
The Panthers were unable to close after their four unanswered goals although, as Louisville got goals from Negai Nakazawa, Perroni and Kokoro Nakazawa to secure a 12-9 win for the Cardinals. Morris and Perroni led Louisville with three goals each, while the Nakazawa sisters both had two goals. Naylor led the Panthers with three goals, while O’Donnell and Washington each had two goals.
The Panthers next game is on Saturday, March 11 against Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Face-off is at 12 p.m and the game can be streamed on the ACC Network.
