Men’s Soccer: Pitt falls to No. 24 West Virginia

The Pitt men’s soccer team couldn’t generate much offense Wednesday night as the No. 24 West… The Pitt men’s soccer team couldn’t generate much offense Wednesday night as the No. 24 West Virginia Mountaineers recorded their third consecutive shutout win, a 2-0 blanking of the Panthers at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

The Mountaineers were awarded two penalty kicks in the second half of the game, and junior midfielder Shadow Sebele converted them both to give the Mountaineers (7-4-1, 3-1-0 Big East) the victory over the Panthers (4-8-1, 2-2-0 Big East).

“It’s disappointing,” senior defender Sam Luffy said after the loss. “We held them scoreless in the round of play, and they got two penalty kicks. The first one I think was definitely controversial. I don’t think it should have been a penalty kick, but [the referee] called it, so we have to live with it.”

West Virginia received its first penalty kick in the 59th minute off an apparent hand ball by senior defender Shane Flowers in the box.

Flowers said after the game that the ball hit him in the bicep, and that the referee reacted to how his jersey ruffled.

“The ball was coming across, and I wasn’t going to let it past me, so I stuck my body in front of it, and it hit me in the bicep,” he said. “I guess [the referee] thought that I threw my arm in front of it. He saw my shirt flail out … and he just instantly called a penalty kick.”

Panthers head coach Joe Luxbacher said that the call changed the flow of the game, which had been a defensive struggle through intermission. He said that no one on the Pitt sideline saw a hand ball, but he did emphasize that it was a tough call for the officiating crew to make because of the play’s fast pace.

“The first penalty kick changed the complexion of the game,” Pitt head coach Joe Luxbacher said. “When it’s that close either way, you almost decide the game with a call like that. It was a tough call. Now we’re chasing the ball trying to get back into it. We never got back in sync after it.”

West Virginia added an insurance goal in the 76th minute when Pitt defender Alex Harrison tripped West Virginia forward Peabo Doue inside the box. Doue went down, and Sebele beat goalkeeper Lee Johnston inside the left post on the ensuing penalty kick for his fifth goal of the year.

The Panthers had not faced a penalty kick this season.

West Virginia out-shot Pitt 20-4 and out-cornered the Panthers 7-1. Mountaineer goalkeeper Justin Holmes didn’t have to make a save to earn his third straight shutout, as the Panthers managed no shots on goal.

The Mountaineers improved their shutout streak to 286 minutes.

Luffy said that the Panthers made too many mistakes in their own end after halftime, and West Virginia took advantage by maintaining possession for long stretches of time.

“We weren’t keeping enough possession,” Luffy said. “We were defending a lot of the game. That’s how fouls like that happen in the box.”

Luxbacher said that Pitt played a decent first half but became flustered and committed too many errors on defense, especially after Sebele’s first goal.

“We need to play better with the ball,” he said. “Part of being a good defending team is to keep the ball once you get it. Don’t give it right back. Tonight, particularly after we got down a goal, we were scrambling. We’d win the ball and we’d give it right back with a poor pass. You can’t do that against good teams.”

Pitt’s next opponent isn’t just a good team — it’s the best team in the nation. The Panthers face No. 1-ranked Connecticut (12-0-1, 3-0-1 Big East) Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the Huskies’ Joseph J. Morrone Stadium.

Connecticut defeated Providence at home Wednesday night, 2-1. The Friars snapped the Huskies program-record 961-minute shutout streak with a goal in the 73rd minute.

It marked the first time since Sept. 4 that the Huskies surrendered a goal. They have allowed three all season.

Freshman goalkeeper Andre Blake leads the conference in goals-against average (0.22), save percentage (.946) and shutouts (nine).

For Pitt to correct its offensive woes against a defense that has been nearly perfect this season, Flowers said the Panthers can’t be picky about the chances they get.

“We struggled on offense [against West Virginia],” he said. “We need to start putting more shots on net from anywhere on the field.”

Sophomore Mamadou Diouf leads the Connecticut attack with eight goals, and midfielder Tony Cascio has six assists, tying him for the most in the Big East.

“They’ll be similar to West Virginia: very skilled, very fast,” Flowers said. “The only thing is, we’re going to be playing away, and they have a big stadium and a big crowd. We just need to put that behind us and play our own game.”

Luffy said the best way to limit Connecticut’s offense is to maintain possession better than the Panthers did Wednesday.

“We’re going to have to keep the ball,” Luffy said. “We aren’t keeping the ball, and good teams will take advantage of that.”