Weekend Sports Recap: Soccer yields mixed, thrilling results, volleyball dominates

Pitt Athletics kept itself busy over the weekend. Several of its teams competed against worthy adversaries both from the ACC and other conferences. Here’s how each squad fared.

Cross Country:

Pitt competed in two races at the Joe Piane Invitational on Friday — the women’s 5000-meter and the men’s five mile. The men finished in 18th place out of 23 schools with a score of 428 points, 34 points more than Penn (394) who finished right above the Panthers. Furman won the whole race with 129 points. Redshirt sophomore Jack Miller placed 43rd in the race as Pitt’s first finisher, while first year Peyton Geehrer finished last out of 176 runners.

The women performed slightly better in their 5000-meter race, with a 15th place finish out of 24 schools. The Panther’s 318 points were just enough to push them ahead of Central Michigan’s 319, but not enough to catch Illinois State, who had 314. California Baptist won the whole race with a mere 44 points, 88 points less than second place Charlotte (132). Sophomore Emily Brown also finished 43rd for Pitt’s first finisher, and first year Winnie Incorvaia placed 104th out of 171 racers.

Their next meet will be at the Penn State National Open, at University Park on Friday, Oct. 15.

Swim and Dive:

Pitt diving hosted Duquesne on Friday for its first official meet of the season. The women swept the podium for the one-meter board and placed second and third for the three-meter board. The men’s one-meter and three-meter competitions consisted of only Pitt divers, since Duquesne does not have a men’s swim and dive team.

Pitt senior Amy Read won the women’s one-meter with a score of 303.6. This not only beat out senior teammate Serena Buchwald — who scored a 276.83 — it also became a new personal record for her, beating her previous best of 303.3. Duquesne junior Sidney O’Donnell won first place on the three meter board with a 289 total score, just pushing her past Buchwald, who scored a 286.5.

Pitt then hosted a relay-only meet against Carnegie Mellon the next day. The Panthers won almost every one of the 14 events. The men’s 200-yard freestyle relay was the only event where they didn’t finish first. CMU juniors Yousef Hassen, Erik Feldmann, Matthew Nagler and fifth-year senior Justin Britton won that event with a 1:24.09 time. They beat out Pitt junior Flynn Crisci, sophomores Marcin Goraj and Wesley Kephart and senior Cooper Van der Laan, who finished with a combined 1:25.60 time.

Both the Pitt men and women won convincingly in the team points department as well. The men won 92-27, while the women won 115-4, making the combined total 207-31.

For their next event, the Panthers will travel to Miami, Florida, to compete in the FIU TYR Classic on Friday and Saturday.

Volleyball:

The No. 2 Panthers (14-0, 4-0 ACC) continued their undefeated streak with a 3-0 sweep of the Duke Blue Devils (10-4, 1-3 ACC) on Friday, winning the three sets by scores of 25-20, 25-19 and 25-20. Graduate student outside hitter Kayla Lund led the team with 14 kills, while middle blocker fifth year Chinaza Ndee picked up 10 kills of her own. Senior middle blocker Sabrina Starks came into the match near the end of the third set and picked up three kills as well. 

Duke kept it close and even took a lead in the second set, but Pitt stood tall and never let the Blue Devils expand their advantage. The Panthers will host Clemson (10-4, 2-1 ACC) for their next game on Friday. The match will start at 5 p.m. and air on the ACC Network.

Men’s Soccer:

No. 16 Pitt defeated the Syracuse Orange (5-5-1, 1-3-0 ACC) 3-2 in double overtime Friday night. The Panthers played their first overtime game since defeating Virginia Tech in Blacksburg last season on March 27.

Pitt opened up the scoring in the sixth minute when senior midfielder Rodrigo Almeida netted his sixth goal of the season, and Syracuse answered with a 29th-minute tally by junior defender Noah Singelmann. The game stayed tied until late in the second half, when Pitt senior defender Arturo Ordoñez headed the ball off a Panther corner in the 86th minute to take a 2-1 lead. The Orange would respond three minutes later after the Pitt defense conceded a penalty kick. Senior Forward Manel Busquets would convert from the spot and send the game to overtime.

The score held at two goals apiece through the first overtime period, but Pitt would score the deciding goal with just seconds left in the second overtime. First-year midfielder Guilherme Feitosa scored his first collegiate goal in the 109th minute on a cross from sophomore forward Bertin Jacquesson, and won the game for the Panthers.

The Panthers’ next game will be a home match against the Cleveland State Vikings on Tuesday. That game will stream on the ACC Network at 7 p.m. 

Women’s Soccer:

The Panthers (8-4, 1-3 ACC) lost their first home conference match 2-1 against Virginia Tech on Saturday night. This is Pitt’s third loss in its last four games, and its first home loss since falling to No. 6 TCU on Sept. 5.

The Hokies got on the board first with a 15th-minute goal from senior midfielder Emily Gray, and they took that lead into halftime. Pitt registered three shots on goal in the first frame, but Virginia Tech sophomore goalkeeper Alia Skinner made all three saves. Pitt wouldn’t get a chance to tie the match until the 64th minute, when a Hokie tripped junior defender Athalie Palomo in the 18-yard box. Fellow junior defender Ashton Gordon buried the resulting penalty kick and tied the game for the Panthers.

However, that would not be enough to save them from a loss. Gray again took advantage of the scrambling Pitt defense in the 83rd minute and collected her second goal of the night. Despite Virginia Tech picking up two yellow cards, Pitt could not come back from the late goal, and lost the match.

The Panthers will have a tough challenge for their next game, a home matchup against No. 5 North Carolina on Thursday. The game will stream on the ACC Network Extra at 7 p.m.