Weekend sports: Panther soccer falters, while swimming and diving make a splash

Swimming and diving

The Panthers opened their home season this weekend as they hosted Virginia and Louisiana State in a two-day tri-meet at Trees Pool.

The weekend opened up Friday with the divers taking to their boards to start off the meet.

Senior diver Meme Sharp took fourth place on the 3-meter dive with a score of 248.0. Sophomore teammate Joe Ference took fourth for the men’s 1-meter with a score of 276.80.

This was head coach Katie Hazelton’s first home meet as Pitt’s new diving coach, and though the team didn’t get top spots, she was content with the performance of her team.

“All of the divers did some good things in their lists today,” Hazelton said.

Though the diving team came in lukewarm on Friday, Pitt swimmers found more luck, snagging four first-place spots.

Sophomore Samy Helmbacher took home an title in the 400-individual medley with a time of 3:49.83, while sophomore teammate Brian Ramsey took first place in the 100 breaststroke with a time of 55.91. Junior Brian Lovasik also claimed first in the 100 freestyle with a time of 44.78.

Senior Amanda Richey had a particularly successful day, taking the win in the 1,000 free, with a speedy time of 9:57.0.

The Panthers improved in the pool Saturday, starting with successes on the springboard.

Sharp worked to improve for day two and took second on the 1-meter with a combined score of 272.40. Ference also had continued success as he took third on the 3-meter dive with a total score of 301.2.

“[Sharp] worked hard on all of the technique stuff that we have been working on in training,” Hazelton said. “[Ference] is really exciting. He is so new to the sport… his potential is fantastic.”

Returning to swimming Saturday, the Panthers took home seven more individual titles — four on the men’s side and three for the women’s team.

Lovasik claimed first-place titles in two events — the 500 free, with a time of 4:46.56, and 200 free, with a time of 1:37.92. Helmbacher recorded his second first place finish of the meet, winning the 200 IM with a time of 47.52.

The Panthers concluded the weekend taking home the win against LSU, the men defeating the Tigers 203.0-150.0 and the women taking the victory as well, 212.0-141.0.

Pitt lost to Virginia — the men defeated by a score of 196.50-155.50 and the women losing 218.0-130.0.

The Panthers will continue their season back at home Friday in Trees Pool against Miami, Michigan State and James Madison in the Pink Meet. The first dive takes place at 4 p.m.

Men’s Soccer

The men’s soccer team was unable to continue their luck Friday night as they travelled to Charlottesville to take on No. 10 University of Virginia. The Panthers lost 2-1 after holding on into double overtime.

The Panthers battled the Cavaliers with tight defense, letting in a single goal during the 40th minute of game by sophomore Raheem Taylor-Parkes. The Panthers exited the first half down 1-0.

The Panthers worked to get up from under the Cavaliers advantage, but were unable to do so until the 76th minute of play. First-year Alexander Dexter scored the first and only goal for the Panthers — his sixth of the season.

Neither team was able to break the tie before the end of regulation — sending the game to overtime. With 107 minutes in play, the Cavaliers found an opening, and junior Jean-Christophe Koffi socked in the winning goal of the game.

The Panthers will host the Akron Zips Tuesday in a 7 p.m. matchup at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

Women’s Soccer

The women’s soccer team was unable to grab their first ACC win of the season, losing to the No. 18 Florida State Seminoles Sunday. The Panthers (3-11-3, 0-8-1 ACC) took to the sunshine state in the hopes to turn their seven-game losing streak around.

The Seminoles took an early lead, scoring during the 18th minute. Pitt spent the half playing catch-up, ultimately tying the game with five minutes left in the second half with junior Sarah Krause scoring her first goal of the season — and the only goal of the game for Pitt.

The Panthers worked to gain an advantage at the beginning of the second half, but were unable to keep up with the Seminoles’ offense. Florida State scored the second goal of the game off of a foul in the 47th minute.

Both teams failed to find the net for the rest of the game, with Pitt falling 2-1 in its last away game of the season.

The Panthers will complete their season Thursday at Ambrose Urbanic Field, hosting Boston College at 7 p.m. for their last home game of the season.

Women’s Volleyball

The Panther volleyball team’s 13-game win streak came to an end this weekend — but they still sit at the top of the ACC.

In a homestand at the Fitzgerald Field House over the weekend, Pitt volleyball (16-5, 9-1 ACC) easily defeated North Carolina (10-8, 7-3 ACC) Friday, but lost to North Carolina State (14-7, 9-1 ACC) in an uneven performance Sunday — marking their first conference loss.

See the full recap here.

Football

With more than 250 yards on the ground and three touchdowns, junior running back Darrin Hall carried the Panther football team to a 24-17 win at Duke — Pitt’s first ACC win of the season.

Both Pitt (3-5 overall, 1-3 ACC) and Duke (4-4 overall, 1-4 ACC) were looking to snap extended losing streaks in their matchup on Saturday, but Hall’s big day and a late defensive stop propelled the Panthers over the top in a 24-17 win at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

“I’m just so proud of our football team,” head coach Pat Narduzzi said. “They hung in there, it wasn’t easy.”

See the full recap here.