Men’s soccer takes down Seton Hall

The Pitt men’s soccer team defeated a determined Seton Hall club, 3-2, and snapped a three-game… The Pitt men’s soccer team defeated a determined Seton Hall club, 3-2, and snapped a three-game winless streak on a rainy Owen T. Carroll Field in South Orange, N.J., on Saturday afternoon. Prior to the match, Pitt coach Joe Luxbacher warned his players of the Pirates’ aggressive approach. ‘I told the guys [Seton Hall] would be aggressive and push the ball forward,’ said Luxbacher. The warning proved credible as the feisty Pirates squad took it to Pitt in the first half and jumped out to an all-important early lead. In the 19th minute, sophomore Dritan Sela headed in a beautiful corner-kick shot taken from Brayan Martinez. Ten minutes hadn’t gone by before the Pirates found a way to get the black-and-white ball in the net to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Another corner-kick opportunity, this time taken by Seton Hall’s Christian Vercollone, was sent to Andrew Welker, who headed the ball to Carlos Salazar. Salazar controlled the ball and scored from point-blank range. Luxbacher said that allowing two corner-kick goals was unexpected. ‘We’ve never really had a problem with that all year,’ said Luxbacher. Despite the 2-0 deficit, Pitt managed to create chances and play a solid first half, throwing six shots on Seton Hall’s net. Pitt also generated the much needed momentum for the second half with a goal that cut the deficit in half. Pitt midfielder Joe Prince-Wright headed in a free-kick off forward E.J. McCormick’s foot in the 39th minute. Pitt had not been involved in a high-scoring match the entire season but played as though it had, finally breaking out with an offensive performance. ‘ ‘We’ve always had our chances throughout the season, but just couldn’t finish,’ said Luxbacher of the team’s offense. ‘This time, we were able to get it done.’ Pitt continued the come-from-behind victory when McCormick collected a Mike McDade pass and evaded two defenders before sending a strike behind the Seton Hall goalkeeper in the 56th minute to tie the game at 2-2. Prince-Wright struck again in the 85th minute with the game-winner, as he collected a pass from Justin Boehm and scored from the left side of the box. ‘It was a good, important win for our guys,’ said Luxbacher. The Panthers see playing in the Big East tournament as a possibility in the near future. They have two regular season games remaining, Tuesday at home against Connecticut and Saturday at Providence. Big East tournament play begins Nov. 5. ‘We’re this far in, and we got a chance to play in the Big East tournament,’ said Luxbacher. ‘We have to go out, play a solid game and see where we’ll be.’