Soccer: Men struggle, women earn crucial conference points

Pitt: 0

DePaul: 1

Pitt men’s soccer head coach, Joe Luxbacher, said his team created… Pitt: 0

DePaul: 1

Pitt men’s soccer head coach, Joe Luxbacher, said his team created plenty of opportunities to score this season.

It’s capitalizing on those opportunities that present a problem.

Pitt’s scoring woes continued against DePaul (5-3 overall, 2-1-0 Big East) on Friday night when the Panthers (1-8, 0-4-0) dropped a 1-0 decision to the Blue Demons at Founders Field.

“If you are not creating any scoring chances, you have real issues,” Luxbacher said. “We’re creating chances. Both games this weekend, we had some good chances — we just couldn’t finish them.”

Luxbacher said the Panthers produced as many, if not more, good scoring opportunities as the Blue Demons.

But it was DePaul’s Steffen Vroom who took advantage of a scoring chance with a game-winning header goal in the 45th minute.

It was a tough goal for Luxbacher and his team.

“Our guys are battling, and we’ve been fighting a lot of really good teams. But at the end of the day, they are all losses, and you have your back against the wall,” he said.

The Panthers came out strong in the first period, out-shooting DePaul 7-4 before the break.

However, the Blue Demons out-shot the Panthers 8-4 in the second period, finishing with a 12-11 shot advantage.

Luxbacher said that despite focusing on finishing and shooting in practices, the Panthers haven’t made the plays in games.

“Our primary effort in recruiting now is towards goal scorers — guys who have the talent to score and are used to scoring,” Luxbacher said. “You can be in every game if you have a couple of guys who can finish off every play.”

Pitt: 1

No. 3 South Florida: 2

Pitt’s luck didn’t get any better as the weekend progressed.

Despite staying close with third-ranked South Florida (6-1-1, 2-1-1), the Panthers dropped their eighth consecutive game 2-1 at Founders Field on Sunday.

“They got a point off a penalty kick and one off a restart, a corner kick,” Luxbacher said. “They had more shots. But in terms of good chances, we had just as many as they did. But we didn’t get a result.”

The Bulls got on the board early, scoring in the 15th minute.

They increased their lead to 2-0 six minutes into the second half when Jorge Mora capitalized on a penalty kick.

Pitt’s Justin Boehm put the Panthers on the board late in the game, but his goal in the 85th minute was too late for a comeback.

South Florida out-shot Pitt 8-2 in the first half and 11-8 in the second half.

But Luxbacher said the Panthers created plenty of scoring chances despite the shot discrepancy.

Pitt will attempt to halt its losing streak in a home match against Providence on Saturday.

Pitt: 0

Marquette: 0

Double overtime

Pitt goalkeeper Morie Kephart set the school record for season and career shutouts when the Pitt women’s soccer team played to a scoreless tie with Marquette at Valley Fields in Milwaukee on Sunday.

Kephart, a junior, now has six shutouts this season and 11 for her career. She accumulated a career-high 11 saves in the match and leads the Big East with 56 this season.

Head coach Sue-Moy Chin said the backfield of Kat Weiler, Maura Caslin, Rebecca Fraser and Abby Baldys deserved some of the recognition for Kephart’s success.

“Morie played great today,” Chin said. “She made some really nice saves for us and controlled the area very well, But the whole backline played tremendous in front of her. You have to give credit to them, as well.”

It was the second consecutive game in which the Panthers (5-2-3, 0-0-3) played into double overtime and yielded the same result.

Kephart was in goal when South Florida came to Pitt on Friday.

Four of Pitt’s last five games have stretched into at least one extra period.

Despite the excess playing time, Chin said her team didn’t show signs of fatigue.

“We had good legs. We didn’t look tired in the overtime,” Chin said. “We’re in every game. I don’t know if there’s a mental toll, but we’re strong physically. So I think we’re OK.”

The shot differential didn’t indicate the final score, though.

The Golden Eagles (7-3-1, 1-1-1) out-shot the Panthers 26-4 for the game, including 6-1 in the overtimes.

Chin said the team needs to focus on getting the midfielders and forwards in sync again before the next game.

“We have to work on possession, on really getting the ball and connecting again,” Chin said.

The Panthers return to the field on Friday when they take on DePaul at home.