Pitt women's lacrosse team defeats Louisville in ACC tournament opener
Pitt isn’t ready to put away its lacrosse sticks.
In the first-year program’s debut venture into the ACC Championship, Paulina DiFatta set a tournament record Wednesday with 19 saves to lead the Panthers to 13-10 victory against Louisville at Arlotta Stadium in South Bend, Ind.
DiFatta, a second-team All-ACC selection, was supported on the other end of the field by Madisyn Kittell, who had three goals and two assists. Paige Petty (two goals, two assists) and Carlie Leach (two goals, one assist) also helped put pressure on the Louisville defense.
Paige, a transfer from Virginia Tech, stretched her streak of consecutive games with a point to 79 and her goal-scoring streak to 46.
“I continue to be impressed by our team,” coach Emily Boissonneault said. “Paulina was a monster in cage. She plays for these moments, and I couldn’t be more proud of her record-breaking performance.”
The victory was Pitt’s second against Louisville this season. The Panthers won, 17-10, on April 9 at Highmark Stadium.
Pitt (9-9) will meet top-seeded and No. 1-ranked North Carolina in the quarterfinals at noonFriday. That game will be a rematch of North Carolina’s 15-5 victory on Feb. 24 at Highmark.
Jerry DiPaola is a TribLive reporter covering Pitt athletics since 2011. A Pittsburgh native, he joined the Trib in 1993, first as a copy editor and page designer in the sports department and later as the Pittsburgh Steelers reporter from 1994-2004. He can be reached at jdipaola@triblive.com.
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