PITTSBURGH, PA - On Wednesday, the Cougars (4-3, 2-0 PAC) opened home conference play, hosting the Franciscan Barons (2-6, 0-3 PAC). The Cougars jumped to an early lead in the first quarter and never looked back, coasting to a 17-4 victory.

The Cougars jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first nine minutes of the game. After that the Barons would score a pair of goals cutting the lead to three goals. That would be the closest they ever got as the Cougars led 6-2 after the first quarter. The Cougars continued their big first half scoring five more goals and growing their lead to eight goals at halftime, 11-3. The Cougars scored the first goal of the second half when Bailey Donofrio scored her 100th career goal giving the Cougars a nine goal lead. Their lead grew to 11 as the teams went into the final quarter, 14-3. In the fourth quarter, the Cougars added another trio of goals and won the game by a final score of 17-4.

The Cougars were led offensively by Tessa Hueber and Donofrio who had five goals each. Hueber assisted on two goals in addition to the career high five goals and Donofrio assisted on one. Erin Goodwin scored four goals and assisted on two. Sam Beall-Dennell scored two goals and assisted on three, leading the Cougars. Meghan Cuza-Berry led the Cougars with five ground balls. Avery Redd, Goodwin and Hueber all recorded three ground balls. Redd also led the Cougars with two caused turnovers. Cuza-Berry played the first three quarters and saved seven shots with a 70% save rate. The Cougars converted on 18 of 19 clear attempts and won 17 draws to the Barons eight.

The Cougars will be back in action on March 29th when they host W&J at 1 PM.