Men’s Soccer: Panthers remain undefeated after comeback effort against Northern Kentucky

Call it swagger or whatever you want — there’s something special about this Pitt men’s…Call it swagger or whatever you want — there’s something special about this Pitt men’s soccer team. Hyperbole befits the group.

Four of the undefeated team’s six results have come after trailing late, giving these Panthers a penchant for drama. Their most recent victory came on Friday night in a 3-2 comeback effort over Northern Kentucky.

“I’ve been here [at Pitt] for three years, and this is the most exciting team that I’ve seen in my tenure,” junior Ryan McKenzie said after the game.

Down two goals early in the second half, the Panthers (4-0-2), lead by McKenzie, knew they needed to step up their intensity.

“We’ve been in similar situations all year, so when we went down two goals we knew that it was still possible for us to win. At the same time, we knew we needed to play better soccer,”  McKenzie said.

Pitt started out the night flat, allowing NKU (0-6) to open the scoring on a attempt from Nick Toney.

Toney curled a shot from eight yards out that Pitt sophomore goalie Lee Johnston couldn’t get a piece of.

After the goal, NKU continued to dominate play, coming close to scoring again multiple times before the half..

However, Pitt, led by Johnston, managed to hold off the surge and keep the score 1-0 Northern Kentucky after the first 45 minutes.

With their backs against the wall, the Panthers still lacked a sense of urgency coming out of the break,  and it would cost them.

In the 54th minute, Toney received a perfect lead pass from fellow freshman Kevin Walker.

He then dribbled around a charging Johnston and finished to give NKU a 2-0 lead.

But true to form, Pitt would come back in a big way, led by birthday boy Nick Wysong.

Wysong, a freshman, received three monster gifts in the form of a hat trick.

“This was about the team tonight. Every single one of my goals was off a major contribution from one member of the team,” Wysong said.

Wysong’s first tally of the night came off a rebound. After he shot on frame, Wysong received a pass from Nico Wrobel, and buried the second chance for his first goal of the night, also his first of the season.

After breaking the shutout, Pitt kept pressing for more, with the closest opportunity coming when Wysong sent a bending ball off the crossbar.

Two minutes later, Wysong would level the score thanks in large part to McKenzie’s efforts.

McKenzie, after receiving a nice pass, streaked toward the goal forcing NKU backup goaltender Ben Dorn off his line.  Dorn deflected the attempt into the corner and away from McKenzie.

Unfortunately for the goalie, McKenzie got to the loose ball and sent a beautiful pass across the face of goal to the right foot of Wysong, who calmly put his finish away to tie the contest at two.

They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place, but lucky for Nick Wysong and the Pitt soccer team, it did nearly 11 minutes later.

After the Panthers earned a corner kick, their tenth of the match, left-footed midfielder Matt Walbert sent a perfect ball into the box. Wysong somehow got on the end of it, heading it in to complete his masterful performance.

After the goal, the Panthers held on for the remaining three minutes and change, sealing the result.

The Panthers next play down the road against crosstown rival Duquesne on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.