Men’s Soccer: Overtime goal sends Pitt home empty in ACC debut

Pitt (0-1-2, 0-1 ACC) lost its first ACC conference game 1-0 in overtime on Friday evening to North Carolina State (2-0, 1-0 ACC). After hanging tough with the Wolfpack for the duration of the regulation periods, Pitt had a momentary slip during overtime that cost the team a victory.  

In the 93rd minute, N.C. State sent a shot toward the net that looked to have been cleared off the line by the Panthers backline. Play continued before the line judge ruled that the ball had, indeed, crossed the line.  

The loss is the 15th consecutive conference loss for the team, a stretch that dates back to 2011. 

“That was a very tough and frustrating loss tonight,” Pitt head coach Joe Luxbacher said in a press release. “Our guys played their best game of the year and played their hearts out. To lose on a disputed goal and come away from this game with nothing, in terms of points, is obviously tremendously disappointing.” ”

The Panthers did play extremely well early on, as the team kept a talented N.C. State team without a goal through regulation. 

Early in the game, N.C. State had a few opportunities to get on the board, but goalkeeper Dan Lynd kept the Panthers in the game. The best chance came in the 15th minute when Dan Lynd made a nice save off a shot from Nazmi Albadawi. The save was the first in a series of five saves for Lynd throughout the evening. 

The Panthers’ best chance to take a 1-0 lead came in the 84th minute, when Julian Dickenson sent a shot that was saved by Wolfpack goalie Fabian Otte. The shot however, started a sequence that featured a pair of Panthers corner kicks toward the end of the half. Despite the two kicks, Pitt was unable to score the elusive first goal in the final three minutes, so the two teams headed to golden goal overtime. 

In the overtime period, Panthers midfielder Nick Wysong almost gave the Panthers a victory when he sent a shot that was just wide on the left-hand side of the goal. Just less than two minutes later, N.C. State scored the game-winning goal. 

“We can take a lot from this game,” Luxbacher said. “We were able to go into a hostile environment and compete with a great team. We will learn from our mistakes and use this as motivation going forward in ACC play.”

The loss marked the third straight game in which the Panthers went into overtime. Pitt had picked up back-to-back ties against Oakland and Longwood.