Panthers hoping to develop prolific offense under new coaching staff this fall

After getting shut out 13 times last season, the Pitt women’s soccer team has to look no…After getting shut out 13 times last season, the Pitt women’s soccer team has to look no further than that statistic to see why it finished the 2011 campaign with a dismal 2-13-4 record (1-8-2 in the Big East).

But under new head coach Greg Miller, who served as associate head coach for the Ohio State Buckeyes, the Panthers hope to rebound instead of rebuild in 2012 in order to return to the postseason for the first time since 2008.

“Coach Miller is awesome,” senior forward Ashley Cuba said of the new coach. “Our team is a complete 180 from last year. He asks more from us individually and is always positive. Our mentality is different. We were down on ourselves a lot last season, even when we won. This year we expect more from ourselves, and we are working hard.”

She also said the team has been working more on offensive maneuvers, which was the team’s biggest weakness last season.

Senior goalkeeper Kristina Rioux echoed Cuba’s statement, saying that this year’s team has more self-confidence.

“We’re completely different from last year,” she said. “Our attitude is much better, we’re playing much better and supporting each other. Coach Miller is preparing us to win and has us focusing on this year and not on what happened last season.”

Even though they were just exhibition matches, the Panthers won more games this past spring than they did all of last fall, opening the spring season with a record of 4-0 and outscoring opponents 9-2. These stats are in sharp contrast to the team’s performance last season, when it was outscored 46-14. The most telling of this season’s wins was a 3-2 nail biter over Maryland, a 2011 NCAA Tournament team.

“I think the team has adapted quite well to the many changes we implemented last spring,” Miller said. “There were a lot of new things we introduced as a staff that were both exciting and at times difficult. They took it all in stride and never complained about any of it. At the very least, we hope what you’ll see different from last year is a more fit and organized team that will be tougher to play.”

The team’s three captains — Rioux, senior defender Abby Baldys and junior midfielder Caroline Keefer — carry a lot of responsibilities both on and off the field.

“Being named captain for my senior season is great,” Rioux said. “But it comes with a lot of added responsibility. Abby, Caroline and I are up to it, and we want to focus on moving forward, making sure everyone is doing their responsibilities on and off the field and providing leadership so we can win games.”

Coach Miller pointed out Cuba and juniors Katie Lippert and Alyssa Meier as other players who should have a big year ahead of them.

“All have a great deal of experience on the field, and all had a strong spring,” he said.

Cuba leads the way offensively for the Panthers. As a third-team All-Big East selection last season, Cuba set the school’s all-time goal-scoring mark — 21, topping the old record of 19 — in just three years.

“It’s pretty awesome having the record,” Cuba said. “I never expected to be able to do it in three years, and it’s nice to have it out of the way. I can look back on that later as a great thing, but right now it’s on the back burner. I want to win.”

Despite all of the positive changes happening to the program, Miller is not getting ahead of himself.

“We will sit down during preseason as a team and set some realistic goals for ourselves after we get an idea of what we have to work with and how fit the team is,” Miller said. “I am confident the team’s focus will be to be more competitive, which will hopefully translate to more wins, especially in [the Big East].”

While Miller doesn’t want his players to forget last year, he does want them to put the dismal year behind them and take on the new season with a positive attitude.

“As we have told the returning team, and we will certainly convey it to the newcomers, no one is here to dwell on the past and point fingers,” he said. “We will have 10 new players this fall who have not experienced the college game. This is a new team, a new year that will share new experiences, new goals and new objectives.”

The Panthers will play nine non-conference games in late August and early September before beginning their Big East play at home at the Petersen Sports Complex against Marquette on Sept. 13.

With a new coach and a new attitude, the 2012 Pitt women’s soccer team will hope to score more goals and record more wins than it has in recent years.

“[We’re] really excited to see what kind of product we can produce,” Miller said.