Soccer: Panthers win season opener at Robbert Morris

The Pitt men’s soccer team opened its season last night with a win over Robert Morris 3-1 in… The Pitt men’s soccer team opened its season last night with a win over Robert Morris 3-1 in front of 420 spectators at North Athletic Complex.

“We didn’t approach things differently,” said coach Joe Luxbacher, referring to his team’s preparation for a season-opener. “We just finished our chances tonight, and that was the difference.”

Part of what made the team successful was its new strategy, which Luxbacher implemented in the offseason. 

The new configuration had three forwards up front, opposed to the traditional two. While that leaves the midfield a bit more vulnerable, the up tempo and aggressive style helped Pitt compensate for a lack of offensive potency.

“We don’t have legitimate big-time goal scorers,” Luxbacher said. “Instead, we’ve got a solid group and eleven guys working as one.”

After a scoreless first half, the Panthers got on the board in the 67th minute when midfielder Ryan Brode scored on a deflection off an indirect kick.

The goal propelled the Panthers, and they scored another unassisted goal in the 72nd minute off the foot of midfielder Mike McDade, who received the ball on a bounce before beating Colonials’ goalkeeper Toba Bolaji.

Robert Morris had more shots than Pitt in the second half, 11-7, but goalkeeper Zack Matthews blocked all but one.  

Pitt put the game away with a goal from midfielder Alex Fischetti in the 86th minute before Robert Morris scored its only goal of the match one minute later. 

Luxbacher liked what he saw from his team, but he thought some of the starters underperformed. Conversely, he liked the play of some freshmen and players off the bench, a trend he hope will continue.

“It’s very important to get contributions from the bench,” he said. “We’re a deeper team [than last year] and we’re going to need that balanced, collective effort.”