JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Lexi Shattahi scored on a pair of penalty kicks, and Clarion (5-6-4, 4-6-4) kept their postseason hopes alive with a 3-1 win over Pitt-Johnstown (1-12-2, 0-11-2) on Saturday. The Golden Eagles finished with a 14-8 advantage in shots and put nine shots on goal while holding Pitt-Johnstown to three.
The Golden Eagles recovered from a Pitt-Johnstown goal at 5:29 and drew level at 36:42, when Shattahi converted a penalty kick to make it 1-1. Shattahi chased a pass into the box and was forced off the ball by Marissa Mackey, who pushed her to the ground for the foul. Shattahi lined a hard shot to the right side of the net past keeper Parker Grimm.
Earlier, the Golden Eagles generated a steady response with a corner kick at 10:39 and shots from Paige Griest, Samantha Gold and Leah Deal, with Gold and Deal forcing saves by Parker Grimm. The half also turned physical during the middle stretch, with Nadia Gill and Pitt-Johnstown's Sarah Henry each receiving yellow cards as the Golden Eagles continued to press through additional attempts by Alyssa Aquilio, Deal and Griest. After Shattahi's equalizer, Addison Blair and Sofia Barba each put late shots on frame that were saved by Gianna Cardillo, and the Golden Eagles went into halftime tied 1-1.
Shattahi put the Golden Eagles ahead in the 58th minute, converting a penalty kick to break the 1-1 tie. The play was similar to the one that earned her the first PK, with Mackey once again fouling her in the box. After a lengthy delay, Shattahi victimized Gianna Cardillo the second time around, beating her to the keeper's left to make it 2-1.
Around that goal, the Golden Eagles withstood Pitt-Johnstown pressure that included two corner kicks and four shots from 54:57 to 62:35, with Sage Sherk saving attempts by Madelyn Pfaff and Sarah Henry. The Golden Eagles created more chances later, as Carmella Simco had a shot saved in the 69th minute before Aquilio scored off Barba's assist at 80:17 to extend the lead to 3-1. Barba pushed a pass downfield to Aquilio, with the latter getting around an aggressive Cardillo and depositing the ball in the empty net. Mia Valerio put another shot on frame in the 83rd minute, and the Golden Eagles allowed only one Pitt-Johnstown shot after Aquilio's goal before closing out the 3-1 win.
