Pitt women beat USF, advance to tourney

After the Pitt women’s soccer team tied Villanova earlier this month, Pitt coach Sue-Moy Chin… After the Pitt women’s soccer team tied Villanova earlier this month, Pitt coach Sue-Moy Chin said she hoped to extend the season for her hardworking seniors. And with a win over South Florida on Friday night, the Panthers did just that. A lone second-half goal at the USF soccer/track stadium proved enough to push the Pitt women’s soccer team past the Bulls and into the postseason for a berth in the Big East tournament. The Panthers were tied with South Florida for the final spot in the Big East tournament going in to Friday’s game, but the win gave Pitt the necessary three points to cement a berth. The tournament appearance marks Pitt’s third in four seasons and is its first since 2006. ‘ ‘It clinched the tournament birth for us, and we knew that going in,’ said Chin. ‘We treated it as a playoff game, and we played really well.’ Despite a good amount of chances at the start of the game, the first half ended in a scoreless deadlock. But the Panthers picked it up in the second half. Chin said she thought her team dominated the second half with the creation of scoring opportunities. Pitt forward Ashley Habbel broke the tie with a goal in the 48th minute. During a six-minute time period, beginning in the 71st minute, the Panthers generated three shots on goal by Katelyn Ruhe, Jennifer Kritch and Rebecca Fraser. Habbel continued to show a flair for coming up big for her team. She netted her eighth career game-winning goal and her third of this season. Habbel needs two more goals to pass Cande Ruiz and claim Pitt’s career scoring record. Ruiz set the record of 18 goals during her time as a Panther from 1998-2001. Pitt goalkeeper Morie Kephart finished with two saves and her fourth shutout of the season. In the 80th minute, South Florida’s Jeanette Dyer produced one of the Bulls’ best scoring opportunities, but Kephart came up with the save. Not only did South Florida’s offense struggle against Pitt’s solid defensive showing, but the Panthers tallied more scoring opportunities throughout the game. Pitt produced six shots on goal, while the Bulls only managed two. ‘It was a great win for us and a great win for the program to clinch a spot for the Big East tournament,’ said Chin. While Pitt clinched a berth in the tournament with the win over South Florida, its good fortune didn’t continue against Marquette. On a windy Sunday afternoon at Valley Fields, the Pitt women’s soccer team fell short in a 2-0 loss. It was Pitt’s last regular season game. ‘The wind was gusting up to 30 mph,’ said Chin, ‘but there was a steady wind around 20-25 mph. ‘After a very emotional game on Friday and having to travel Saturday, we didn’t start out as well as we would have liked.’ Pitt fell behind early, and the deficit was too much to overcome. With the loss, the Panthers finished the regular season with a record of 7-11-1 overall and 4-6-1 in the Big East, while Marquette improved to 10-6-3 overall and 6-3-2 in the conference. ‘We’ll just go back, rest and recover and get ready for Louisville on Thursday,’ said Chin. Kickoff on Thursday is set for 7 p.m.