Men’s Soccer: Panthers set to begin season after exhibition matches

In preparation for the upcoming season, the Pitt men’s soccer team played three exhibition games last week. The Panthers faced California (Pa.) last Wednesday, Detroit on Saturday and finished up with McMaster on Sunday. 

Here’s short recaps of all three games:

Pitt 3, California (Pa.) 0

In its first exhibition game of the season, Pitt put up a “solid effort,” according to Coach Joe Luxbacher last Wednesday afternoon at the Phillipsburg Soccer Facility in California, Pa. 

Chris Davis, a senior transfer from Gardner-Webb University, was instrumental in leading the team to victory with two goals. Senior forward Nico Wrobel tallied the third score.

“We used 16-17 guys and were able to give everybody a good look,” Luxbacher said in a press release. “Obviously, we need to clean some things up because we’re playing in the ACC and that’s a top league, but the guys played really well today and really went after it.”

Pitt 2, Detroit 2

Saturday afternoon at Ambrose Urbanic Field on upper campus, the Panthers matched up against the Detroit Titans. Pitt blew a pair of leads, one of which was a 2-1 margin with just eight minutes to play. 

In the 34th minute of Saturday’s contest, sophomore Ryan Myers set up Chris Davis off a set piece to give the Panthers an early 1-0 lead, which stood well into the 60th minute. However, the Titans responded in the 65th minute when senior defenseman Patrick Soltys redirected an opposing player’s shot past Panthers keeper Dan Lynd. 

After a Detroit header hit the bottom of the crossbar, the Panthers were able to counter and take the lead. Off a set piece, senior forward Ryan McKenzie perfectly connected with junior forward Chu Chu Onyeukwu for the Panthers’ second goal of the match.

Detroit got desperate following Pitt’s goal, refusing to quit. With just 6:19 left to play, Titan freshman midfielder Aidan Kuhls found fellow freshman Adam Clauss, who directed a shot across the box and past Lynd. The tying goal stood, as the two teams played to a 2-2 draw.  

Following the game, Luxbacher was not pleased with his team’s effort down the stretch. 

“When you’re up 2-1 late in the game, you want to be really safe. But we took some risks, and they caught us,” he said. 

Pitt 2, McMaster 0

On Sunday, the Panthers played a complete game at Urbanic Field. The turnovers were eradicated and the Panthers dominated play. 

“We played much better soccer today,” Luxbacher said. “We didn’t create as many chances as we would have liked, but we had a lot of the ball.”

And while the Panthers may not have had a lot of chances, they capitalized when possible to tally two goals. 

In the 11th minute, Onyeukwu took a feed from Wrobel, and fired a strike into the back of the net. The goal marked the second day that Onyeukwu has scored. 

The Panthers continued to dominate the ball through the rest of the first half, as they held on to the slim 1-0 margin. 

The Panthers picked up ball pressure to start the second half, and it would lead to a few more chances, one of which resulted in a goal. 

In the 70th minute, junior midfielder Dan Prete corralled a loose ball and scored Pitt’s second goal of the game. The Panthers held on for the rest of the game, concluding the team’s exhibition season.

The three games were a success for the team, as the Panthers played every single member of the roster in hopes of seasoning young players. 

“This weekend was about getting guys experience,” senior defender John Cordier said. “Looking forward, this is going to prove to be invaluable. It was important to see which guys can step up for us when it counts.” 

So as the season approaches, the Panthers feel extremely confident looking ahead toward the opener against Oakland University this Friday at 7:30 p.m. 

“So far we’ve had a good season,” Davis said. “We won two out of three matchups, and we’ve played extremely well.”