INDIANOLA, Pa. – A strong Pittsburgh team proved to be too much for a young Niagara squad, as the Purple Eagles lost, 3-0, to the Panthers on Sunday afternoon at Founders Field. With the loss, Niagara falls to 1-1-0 on the season, while the Panthers improve to 2-0-0.

"When you play against quality teams, you need to step up and unfortunately we didn’t," head coach Peter Veltri said. "We fought ourselves more than anything and we were not mentally prepared to play today."

Niagara fell behind early in the contest when sophomore Ashley Habbel beat Niagara goalkeeper Sarah Stephens (Toledo, Ohio) to put Pitt ahead, 1-0, at the 9:28 mark. Habbel set up the Panthers second goal by sending a throughball that senior Jennifer Kritch knocked in with less than 20 minutes remaining in the half. Pittsburgh’s final tally came at the 74:21 mark when freshman Liz Carroll found the back of the net off a cross from sophomore Jenna Freenfield.

Niagara managed only seven shots in the contest, including a pair by senior Brittany Bisnott (Brampton, Ont.). Freshman Ashleigh Bowers (Liverpool, N.Y.), who started the second half in goal for the Purple Eagles, finished with four saves.

"The one bright spot is that we have a better understanding of what it takes to play at that level," Veltri said. "We know that if we play like we’re capable of, we can play with teams at that level."

The Purple Eagles will be in action next weekend when they host the Niagara Tournament. Niagara plays American on Friday at 3:30 p.m., followed by Binghamton on Sunday at 1 p.m.