Pitt women’s soccer (2-1-1, 0-0-0 ACC) kicked off its regular season with four August contests against Georgia, Duquesne, Buffalo and Bucknell. After commendable performances against the Bulldogs and the Dukes, Pitt’s poor execution against Buffalo left it a bitter taste early in the season. The Panthers, however, bounced back in their road game against Bucknell with an impressive performance.
Georgia
The No. 7-ranked Panthers kicked off the regular season last Thursday, Aug. 16 against No. 14 Georgia — their first season opener against a ranked team in program history. The match ended in a draw, and, for the first time since 2016, the Panthers did not win their first game of the season. Pitt, however, outshot Georgia 18-10, and junior goalkeeper Ellie Breech marked four saves to start the year.
Duquesne
Pittsburgh enjoyed another crosstown classic at Highmark Stadium last Sunday, Aug. 18. Pitt picked up its first regular season win against Duquesne, featuring sophomore forward Lucia Wells’ first career goal in the 84th minute.
The Panthers held a 9-5 edge in shots by the end of the first half. Senior forward Sarah Schupansky scored the first goal in the first half, followed by Wells’ goal in the second. Duquesne scored a goal in the last few minutes of play, but Pitt ultimately won 2-1.
Buffalo
The Panthers fell to Buffalo for the first time since 1996 on Thursday, Aug. 22. Buffalo senior goalkeeper Lexie Thompson’s lights-out performance in net led the Bulls to their ranked victory. Thompson consistently found her glove on the ball and earned nine saves in the match. The senior faced 28 shots from the Panthers to Buffalo’s 10 on Thursday evening.
The Bulls came out strong and scored a goal in the first ten minutes of play. Pitt quickly recovered in the 23rd minute when senior forward Samiah Phiri capitalized on a rebound to even the score.
The teams went into the locker room tied, despite Pitt possessing the ball for most of the first half. The Panthers fought for another goal early in the second half but failed to take the lead. Buffalo found an opening in the middle of the second half and scored the winning goal in the 58th minute.
Bucknell
The Panthers bounced back against Bucknell on Sunday afternoon with a knockout performance. Pitt won 5-1 against the Bison. The Panthers went into the locker room after the first half ended 0-0 but came out eager in the second half to put points on the board. The Bison, however, scored first in the 49th minute. Pitt junior defender Katie Zailski’s shot soon after evened the score.
Pitt took the lead in the 63rd minute with back-to-back goals, then senior forward Sarah Schupansky scored her second goal of the match and the team’s fifth goal to win 5-1.
The Panthers will continue their slew of road games on Aug. 29th against Loyola Marymount. Pitt and LMU met one time in 2019 where the Panthers won 5-4. The teams’ second ever faceoff will kick off in California on Sullivan Field at 1 pm.