Pitt men’s soccer conquers Western Pa. foe RMU, 2-1

Outfitted in butterscotch-yellow jerseys, Pitt men’s soccer (2-4-0, 0-1-0 ACC) took to Ambrose Urbanic Field Tuesday to defeat Western Pennsylvania neighbor Robert Morris (0-6-1).  

Led by goals from first-year forward Colin Brezniak and junior midfielder Joshua Gaspari, the Panthers controlled the game early and held on for a 2-1 victory. First-year forward Edward Kizza continued his strong play, racking up three shots and an assist.

Pitt got off to a fast start, quickly taking the upper hand on the pitch. After just five minutes of play, Pitt seemed to have scored the first goal of the game — however, it was called back after an offside call on Pitt.

Kizza had another scoring attempt for the Panthers a few seconds later. He tried to infiltrate the goal box from the left, but Colonial goalie Winter Fondi set himself up right in front of the shot to quickly block it.

Pitt junior midfielder Javi Perez soon followed up with a corner kick attempt, but he overshot the ball, getting it nowhere close to the goal.

Pitt took an early lead during the 7th minute as Brezniak scored inside the goal box on an assist from Kizza.

For the remainder of the first half, Pitt controlled the field, giving RMU very little time on offensive. Pitt took six shots in the first half — three of which came from Brezniak — and four of which Winter Fondi needed to fend off.

The Colonials had only made one shot on goal by the end of the first half, which Pitt sophomore keeper Mikal Outcalt was able to keep out of the net. Pitt returned to the bench at the halfway mark with a 1-0 lead.

Both teams entered the second half seemingly refreshed. The Panthers received a free kick just outside the goal box after a foul by the Colonials, but Perez missed and overshot.

The Panthers were close to scoring a second goal as Kizza got the ball off a Colonial misplay near the goal box. But his shot sailed high, keeping the score at 1-0.

Still early in the second half, the Colonials pushed into the Panthers’ zone and centered the ball in front of the goal — which senior forward Rafael Bruzual headed into the back of net, tying up the score at 1-1.

The game didn’t remain tied for long, with Gaspari retaking the lead for the Panthers with an unassisted goal in the 55th minute.

Pitt and RMU exchanged unsuccessful shots for the remainder of the game — eight for the Panthers, one for the Colonials. After almost 40 minutes of back-and-forth action, Pitt escaped with a 2-1 win.

Overall, the Panthers improved upon their performance against the Demon Deacons last Saturday. Their offense was engaged, outshooting the Colonials 16 to five, eight of them being shots on goal.

The Pitt men’s soccer team will travel to South Carolina to take on the Clemson Tigers on Saturday at 7 p.m., in hopes of claiming their first ACC win of the season.