STEUBENVILLE, Ohio – Olivia Belack (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair) registered her first collegiate hat trick, while Alex Bilka (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) added two goals and one assist to lead Penn State Behrend past Franciscan 6-1 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) semifinals on Wednesday.
The third-seeded Lions (15-5-1) avenged a 2-1 loss earlier in the season to the Barons (13-5-1) to advance to their fifth straight and 15th overall AMCC Championship game on Saturday at top-seeded Pitt-Bradford. Game time is slated for 2 p.m.
Behrend managed a 3-0 lead at halftime and then added three more goals in a span of eight minutes late in the second half to post its second-highest offensive output this season with six goals.
Less than four minutes after the opening whistle, Bilka made it 1-0 on a penalty kick. Belack followed with a goal from Allyson Lonas (Johnstown, PA/Conemaugh Township) in the 25th minute and the Lions took a 3-0 lead off a Franciscan own goal at the 34:38 mark of the first half.
The Barons avoided the shutout with a goal from Ashley Ruttencutter five minutes into the second stanza on a penalty kick to make it 3-1.
Behrend scored three unanswered goals to finish the game, getting consecutive goals from Belack and another from Bilka for the final margin. Lonas recorded her second assist of the day with a ball played in off a direct kick and Belack headed it in the net for a 4-1 lead.
Bilka assisted Belack's third goal of the day four minutes later, before finishing a pass from Gionna Fonseca (Murrysville, PA/Franklin Regional) in the 78th minute to conclude the scoring.
Taylor Troyan (Butler, PA/Butler) made five saves on 15 total shots by the Barons. The Lions scored three goals on six shots in the first half and ended with 16 shots.
