PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Purchase College women's soccer team opened its Skyline Conference and home slate against St. Joseph's College (Brooklyn) Saturday afternoon. The match was filled with a number of goals and strong runs made by both teams, including a hat trick performance by Panther standout Kristen Purcell, however, the visiting Bears would come away with the deciding goal in overtime, defeating Purchase, 5-4.

SJC remains undefeated at 3-0-1 overall and 1-0 in the Skyline, while the Panthers drop to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in the league.

Purchase senior quad-captain Rebecca Colgan (Valley Stream, NY) broke open the scoring for the game at 19:33, netting one to the lower left post off a short pass from rookie teammate Rebecca Quick (FR/Millbrook, NY).

Minutes later, St. Joseph's fired back with a three-goal rally to take a 3-1 lead. SJC freshman Mia Castaneda ignited the run with two unassisted goals at 24:06 and 25:17. Alexis Breen followed with a third at 36:49 to give the visitors a two-goal advantage at the break.

In the second half, Purchase's eleven took the field looking to flip the script on the Bears—and that is exactly what they did. Purcell (JR/Saquoit, NY) highlighted the stanza with a three-goal performance and with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Purchase held a 4-3 advantage.

Purcell's first came off the assist from junior quad-captain Michelle Gomez (Oceanside, NY). Gomez connected on a through pass to Purcell, who took a touch and ripped a shot from 35 yards out. Colgan notched the assist for Purcell's second goal in the 78th minute and Purcell completed the hat trick with an unassisted goal off a free kick at 82:06.

Purchase's lead was short-lived, however, as SJC senior Christina Di Bartolo's corner kick found the back of the net less than two minutes later.

With time running out, both teams looked to control possession late. Colgan and Lauren Pudelka (JR/Danbury, CT) produced two opportunities for Purchase but were shut down by St. Joe's netminder Reem Shaban. With a tie score at 4 apiece, the contest headed into overtime.  

SJC took the kickoff in extra time. After a minute of possession, the visitors took advantage of a breakaway opportunity, sending Di Bartolo on a 1v1 in the team's final attacking third. She slipped a shot past PC goalie Haley Cascio for the game-ending goal.

For Purchase, Purcell led with nine shots on goal and three goals. Cascio picked up five saves despite being tagged with her second loss of the season.

"I'm very proud of the team for their effort and perseverance today," said head coach Graham Fortunato. "Despite being down 3-1 at the half, they worked together as a team to score three unanswered goals. That is something positive that we can build from."

In net for SJC, Shaban finished with 11 saves. Castaneda and Di Bartolo both paced the visitor offense with two goals apiece, and Alexis Breen came off the bench to notch her first goal of the season.

The Panthers look to bounce back from Saturday's loss when they return to the Purchase turf on Tuesday to play host to the College of Mount Saint Vincent. Kickoff of the Skyline matchup is set for 4 p.m.