HAMBURG, N.Y. – The Hilbert College Women's Soccer season came to a crashing end this afternoon after they suffered a 3-0 loss to Penn State Altoona in the First Round of the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference postseason tournament.
The No. 3 Hawks hosted the No. 6 Lions at Frontier High School in a late afternoon tilt and left it all on the pitch by the final horn.
Altoona took a 1-0 lead before intermission off an unassisted goal by Mallorie Smith in the 36th minute even though the Hawks built a 9-5 advantage in shots after controlling the pace in the first 45-minutes.
Hilbert took the pitch with confidence in the second half but had to battle through a few injuries as the period progressed. Sophia Nelson sprinted past a defender and beat goal keeper
Jordan Brown in a 1 v 1 situation in the 72nd minute. From that point forward, the Lions began to milk the clock forcing dozens of Hilbert throw-ins on the sideline. Altoona booted the final hit off a restart kick before the final horn for the win.
Chloe Champagne used her quickness with and without the ball to unleash three shots on goal and
Gabrielle Avallone followed with two on frame.
Grace Zabawa used her footwork to find angles and finished with six shots.
Freshman
Jordan Brown (4-5-1) completed an impressive first year in net for Hilbert making six saves today.
Coach
Scott MacLean, though disappointed in the score, is very excited about the women's soccer program. "I really felt like we needed to get that first goal to take full control. We had good looks and then those three injuries really stung late in the game when we were making that push and pressing forward." He continued, "It was a tough pill to take today but I am so incredibly proud of this team and the body of work they put together this season. We are a very young group, and our team culture is at the point it needs to be. I expect great things for the program in the future."
Hilbert concluded the season at 7-9-1 with a 5-3-1 AMCC record. The 2023 Hawks earned the program's highest AMCC postseason tournament seed (3) since Hilbert became an AMCC member in 2004-05.
