BRADFORD, Pa. – Olivia Belack (Upper St. Clair, PA/Upper St. Clair) scored the game-winning goal in the 96th minute to lead No. 3 Penn State Behrend past top-seeded Pitt-Bradford 2-1 in overtime to capture the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Championship on Saturday afternoon.
The win marks the Lions (16-5-1) fourth straight conference title and 10th overall for the program. Behrend earned the AMCC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with first round games slated to begin on Nov. 14-16.
Allyson Lonas (Johnstown, PA/Conemaugh Township) netted the first goal for the Lions, while Belack tallied her team-leading 16th goal of the season to help Behrend defeat the Panthers (15-5) for the third straight year in the championship game by a score of 2-1.
Pitt-Bradford had chances early in the game to get on the board with shot by Casey Schimpf hitting the post in the first two minutes. The Panthers had better luck in the 34th minute when Jamie Christensen headed the ball off a corner from Melissa Smith that hit the inside of the crossbar for a 1-0 lead.
Two minutes later, Behrend answered right back on Lonas's driven corner kick that curved in the box and right into the far side of the goal to even the score at 1-all.
The championship battle continued for another 45 scoreless minutes, forcing sudden-death overtime.
At the 95:19 mark, Alex Bilka (Cranberry Township, PA/Seneca Valley) sent a ball up the middle to Belack, who took on two defenders and found herself alone with goalie Sarah Bailey for the game winner. Belack's goal gives her at 42 points for the season and puts her two away from tying the single-season record for points (44).
Taylor Troyan (Butler, PA/Butler) came up with big stops on the day, ending with three saves to be named to the All-Tournament Team along with Belack and defender Caroline Mashyna (Erie, PA/McDowell).
