Women’s Soccer: Panthers clinch spot in Big East tournament

On Senior Day, the players in their last season on Pitt women’s soccer team received the best… On Senior Day, the players in their last season on Pitt women’s soccer team received the best present they could have asked for: another game to play.

On a day that could have been their last game in Panther uniforms, the Pitt seniors walked off the field to the news that they would play at least one more game in the blue and gold.

With victories in their final two games and with other Big East teams falling around them, the Panthers earned a spot in the Big East tournament for the fourth time in six years.

“It was amazing,” Pitt head coach Sue-Moy Chin said. “We definitely approached it one game at a time. We focused on the task at hand and the opponent at hand. The girls played with a lot of heart and a lot of confidence.”

Due to victories over Providence and Connecticut this weekend and losses by Providence, Syracuse and St. John’s, the Panthers moved from seventh to fifth place, the final qualifying position, in the American Division of the Big East.

Pitt senior Kat Weiler said it was the team’s best weekend all season.

“This was our last chance to make it to the tournament, and with these games, we really had to give it everything we had,” Weiler said. “We knew we had a chance so we kept our hopes alive. To find out at the end of [the Connecticut] game that all the teams lost, it was really, really exciting.”

Pitt will take on DePaul, the fourth place team from the National Division, on Thursday. It’s the Panthers’ first trip to the Big East tournament since 2008.

Pitt 2, Providence 0

Pitt set the tone early and didn’t look back in its first match of the weekend, taking the lead off a goal by Christina Nicassio less than two minutes into the game.

“Getting that early goal was really key for us,” Chin said. “That just set the tone. We were able to settle in. It’s always great to score early and have the lead.”

After a Liz Carroll corner kick, Nicassio shot the ball into the left side of the net past Providence goalkeeper Jill Schott.

With Providence chasing from behind, the Panthers held the lead until halftime, aided by four saves from goalkeeper Morie Kephart.

In the 79th minute, the Panthers added an insurance goal to the board. Katelyn Ruhe passed a defender on the outside then set up an open Dana DelleFemine on a cross ball. DelleFemine buried the shot into the left side of the goal.

It was DelleFemine’s third goal of the season.

“We played well,” Chin said. “The girls worked very hard for each other.”

Providence out-shot the Panthers 19-8, but the Panthers capitalized on their opportunities, something they’ve struggled with all the season.

Kephart finished with seven saves. Nicassio led Pitt with three shots and two shots on goal. Courtney Collins had two shots and two shots on goal for Providence, and Emily Castle had four shots and one shot on goal.

Pitt 1, Connecticut 0

The 1-0 victory over Connecticut helped ease some heartache for the Panther seniors as they could look forward to at least one more week with their teammates.

“I thought this could be our last game ever,” Weiler said. “To come off the field and know that I had another week of practice and another game, it was really nice and it made it less sad.”

Weiler said making the tournament was one of the team’s goals and was especially important to the seniors: Weiler, Nicassio, Carroll, Kephart, Alexandra Jaffe, Laura Berbert and Katheryn Kunugi.

All of the seniors except the injured Berbert played in the contest. Chin said the group was a strong senior class, who led and contributed throughout the season.

“The girls are wonderful, and they wanted to continue playing,” Chin said. “It’s a great class. All the girls are very special to me and to the program.”

She said the team wanted to do whatever it took to prolong the season and give the seniors another chance play.

“We knew we had to win to have an opportunity to qualify for the tournament,” Chin said. “We didn’t have to say it. They knew it.”

Ruhe scored her first goal of the year on Pitt’s first shot of the game.

In the 30th minute, she fired a shot over the head of Connecticut goalkeeper Jessica Dulski from 18 yards away off an assist from Carroll.

That one goal proved enough to seal the victory as Kephart took over from there. Kephart finished with seven saves. She had four in the second half, when Chin said the Huskies created several scoring opportunities.

“Morie came up really huge in the second half to keep them off the board for us to get the win,” Chin said. “We’re just really happy to make another Big East tournament.”

Once again, the Panthers were out-shot, this time 14-5. Meghan Cunningham and Jessica Shufelt led the Huskies with three shots and two shots on goal each.

Chin said Pitt will turn its attention to DePaul on Thursday. In order to come away with the victory, she said the Panthers have to continue to play the way they performed over the past two weekends.

“We just need to focus on our play, put the other team under pressure and limit their opportunities,” Chin said. “That will be the foundation going forward. It’s tough to win on the road, but we’re going to do our best to go in there and put them under pressure.”