Pitt women's lacrosse works overtime in victory against Duquesne

Long before the Pitt women’s lacrosse team’s historic 9-8 overtime victory against Duquesne on Friday night — the program’s inaugural game — coach Emily Boissonneault sat down to write her pregame speech.

This wasn’t just any ordinary talk, though. These words mattered.

Boissonneault said she wrote the speech “over and over again.”

“I cried every other sentence, every time I read it,” she said.

Junior Carlie Leach, who scored the winning goal and one other in the third period, said the speech emphasized the need for players to come together as a family for this fledgling program to grow.

“We talked about family all week and being there for each other,” Leach said. “We have to play together. We have a ton of freshmen, a ton of transfers.”

Looking back on her speech and the final score, Boissonneault didn’t mind saying, “I think it went pretty well.”

It apparently worked for Leach, a transfer from Oregon who scored the decisive goal 62 seconds into overtime, and Kierin Ratliff-Kailbourne, who scored four goals.

“She did cry a couple times,” Leach said. “She is a very good speaker. Everybody was so excited to get out there already, and she just brought it up another level.”

Kate Elam, Chloe Jones and Paige Petty also scored for Pitt. Karina Latsko, a Seneca Valley graduate, helped Pitt gain a 14-6 edge in draws.

A crowd of 764 showed up at Highmark Stadium to watch a game that turned out to be a back-and-forth struggle between two neighboring schools.

Delaney Rodriguez-Shaw and Tina St. Clair scored twice each for Duquesne, leading the Dukes to a 3-2 halftime lead and 8-7 advantage with 5 minutes, 27 seconds left in the fourth period.

Boissonneault said she was pleased that her team kept its poise through moments of adversity.

“We started the game really supporting them through their mistakes and nerves and challenged them at half,” she said. “And I was really happy to see them pick it up.”

Petty, who transferred from Virginia Tech, where she was a four-time All-American, scored with 2:07 left to tie the score 8-8.

Leach said she never saw the winning goal go into the net.

”I had to ask (teammates), and they were telling me through the screams,” she said.

Leach said Friday’s game was her third career season opener, but this one was different.

“This one felt like it had a little bit more pressure and had a little more behind it and a lot more meaning,” she said. “I came to Pitt from the West Coast, and it has become my home.

“I took a bit of gamble coming out here. I didn’t really know what to expect with the team, but I knew I was coming to build something bigger than myself.

“I know there was some doubt. Having that win under our belt and realizing, yes, we can work together, yes, we can compete, yes, we’re going to produce. We can take a step forward and really start to push each other and continue to grow.

“I know it’s only up from here. We have a long way to go. I believe in every one of my teammates, and I know we’re going to be able to produce this year.”

The victory also carried significance for Ratliff-Kailbourne, who was the leading scorer on Pitt’s club team that won a national championship in 2019 while waiting for the varsity team to take shape. Teammates Caroline Lederman and Payton Reed were also part of that team.

”I’ve been waiting two years to put on this jersey,” Ratliff-Kailbourne said. “The feeling is unreal. I’m still shaking.”