PURCHASE, N.Y. – The Purchase College women's soccer team fell to Skyline Conference powerhouse Sarah Lawrence College, 5-1, in a hard-fought matchup Wednesday evening at home. 

Tied 0-0 in the first half, Sarah Lawrence's Viktoria Balbin broke open the deadlock in the 15th minute off a feed from Hannah Chaffin. Balbin collected the ball at the top of the 18-yard box and placed a chip shot over Purchase goalie Carolyn Hough (SO/Massapequa, NY) and to the far left corner.

The visitors went on the score again in the 39th minute, an unassisted strike from Kailee Call, to lead 2-0 at halftime.
 
After outshooting Purchase 17-0 in the first half, Sarah Lawrence continued to fire away after the break. The Gryphons held a 26-4 advantage in shots over the final 45 minutes, finding the back of the net three more times to lead 5-0. 

With just eight seconds remaining on the clock, the winner had long been decided. However, in a moment of respite, Purchase managed to break the Gryphons' strangehold. 

In the waning moments, the Panthers launched a counterattack that resulted in a PC corner kick. A loose ball inside the 18 went off the head of Jessica McHugh (FR/) and to the foot of power striker Julieth Velasquez (SO/White Plains, NY), who slotted the ball into the back of the net.  

Despite being tagged with the loss, Hough recorded 13 saves on the night. Sarah Lawrence netminder Maya Pfeiffer collected two saves.

Purchase returns to its home turf on Saturday for its Senior Day game, a non-conference matchup against Medgar Evers, slated for noon.

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