Weekend Sports recap: Soccer teams continue conference grind

This weekend in Pitt athletics was highlighted by historic games featuring the football and volleyball teams, but both the mens and womens soccer teams faced key ACC rivals in some under-the-radar matchups.

Men’s soccer

The Pittsburgh Panthers traveled to Newtown, Massachusetts Friday evening to take on ACC rival Boston College. The Panthers, coming off a win against Akron, started what could be described as a “winning streak” by beating the Golden Eagles by a score of 2-0. Pitt got back to .500 in conference play while Boston College fell to 0-2.

Pitt controlled the pace, besting the Eagles in shots 14 to nine. The Panthers placed six of those shots on goal while only four from Boston College reached the goalkeeper. The Eagles saved three of Pitt’s four shots on goal, but the Panthers found their stride in the 38th minute with a free-kick goal from first-year midfielder Veljko Petkovic, his second of the season.

In the second half, Boston College was still unable to attack, firing three shots on goal that couldn’t find the back of the net. Pitt fired seven shots in this period, but placed two on the net. One was successfully saved, but in the 86th minute, Pitt sealed the deal when junior forward Alexander Dexter scored off an assist from Petkovic. This marked the second goal of the season for Dexter and goals in back-to-back games.

The (3-3-1) Pittsburgh Panthers now look forward to their next match on the road at Syracuse, a 7 p.m. kickoff on Sept 27.

Women’s soccer

As their male counterparts look forward to a match with Syracuse, Pitt women’s soccer looks back on its own, as the Panthers hosted the Orange at Ambrose Urbanic Field for a showdown Friday night.

But Friday’s match was one the Panthers would rather not look back on too long. Their two-game winless streak was extended with a 1-1 draw in their only competition this weekend.

Despite outshooting the Orange 20 to eight, Pitt only scored once in the first half. Like the men, their singular first-half score came in the 38th minute off the foot of first-year forward Rachel Rasins and assisted by teammate Amanda West.

In the second half, Syracuse ratcheted up the pressure and finally scored in the 61st minute, coming off a penalty kick. Pitt mustered only one shot on goal and came up empty as the game went into overtime.

Pitt showed dominance in the first overtime period with three shots on goal, but could not capitalize and the second overtime period was the same story. Despite Syracuse only placing one shot on goal over the entirety of the game, it was able to escape with a tie.

Pitt will look to get back on track when it travels to South Bend, Indiana against Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish on Sept. 26. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m.

Football

Pitt football upset No. 15 Central Florida on Saturday, handing the Knights their first regular-season loss in 27 games. Read our recap from Saturday here.

Volleyball

Pitt volleyball continued its non-conference schedule with a home-and-home series against rival Penn State. The Panthers won in a sweep on Friday night in State College, but the Nittany Lions got revenge in a five-set thriller on Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh.