New coach attempts to revive struggling women’s soccer program

Thirteen was an unlucky number for the Pitt women’s soccer team last season. That’s the number of times the Panthers were shut out en route to a 2-13-4 record (1-8-2 in the Big East). Thirteen was an unlucky number for the Pitt women’s soccer team last season.

That’s the number of times the Panthers were shut out en route to a 2-13-4 record (1-8-2 in the Big East). The disappointing season resulted in the program going in a new direction with its head coach.

Under new head coach Greg Miller, who served as an associate head coach for the 2010 Big Ten champions, the Ohio State Buckeyes, the team hopes to rebound instead of rebuild and return to the postseason for the first time since 2008.

“Coach Miller is awesome,” senior forward Ashley Cuba said. “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.”

Cuba also said that the Panthers are already working on fixing the goal-scoring problem that plagued them last season.

“There’s always more to work on, and so far this spring, we have done a lot more offensive work, which was our biggest weakness last year,” she said.

The Panthers have won more games in their spring exhibitions alone than they did all of last fall, opening the spring season 4-0 and outscoring opponents 9-2. They were outscored 46-14 last season. The most telling of these wins was a 3-2 nail-biter over 2011 NCAA Tournament participant Maryland, who advanced to the Sweet Sixteen last year.

“While we played some decent soccer at times in both games, we still weren’t as consistent on both sides of the ball as we would have hoped to be at this point in the spring,” Miller said in a press release. “What needs to be noted, though, is there were many great moments to build on from these games.”

He added that the new coaching staff has been pleased by the student-athletes’ desire to improve.

“We need to work on finding ways to persevere despite the adversity,” he said. “As a staff, we are extremely proud of this group and the sacrifices they have made to be better.”

Leading the way for the Panthers is Cuba, a third-team All-Big East selection last season who has already set the school’s all-time goal-scoring mark of 21 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.”

Winning on its home turf of the Ambrose Urbanic Field at the Petersen Sports Complex — something Pitt did only once last season — would be a good start for the struggling program.

Besides Cuba, the Panthers have a few other talented players looking to improve under the new regime. A pair of juniors, forward Dana DelleFemine and midfielder Katie Lippert, will play a crucial role in helping Pitt score more goals.

DelleFemine, who registered two goals last season, already has three so far this spring and has developed a nice rapport with Cuba, who assisted on all three goals. Lippert also scored twice in the win over Maryland.

“I see a lot of people stepping up this season,” Cuba said. “Lauren Yobbi, Katie [Lippert] and Dana [DelleFemine] have all played well this spring, and I expect them to play well in the fall. As a group, we expect more from ourselves and we’re excited for next season.