Women’s soccer drops first game

After gaining an early 2-1 lead against the University of Akron, the Pitt women’s soccer team… After gaining an early 2-1 lead against the University of Akron, the Pitt women’s soccer team left Lee Jackson Field disappointed Friday night. Sophomore Liz Carroll scored the first Panther goal at the 11-minute mark off a pass from Laura Berbet, but Akron’s Katelyn Hausfeld responded two minutes later to tie the game, then again with another goal to start an avalanche of scoring and lead Akron to the 6-2 win. Britni Back and Leigh Cullen also added goals to seal the 6-2 win. With five unanswered goals, the Zips gave Pitt an unanticipated loss and an eye-opening lesson. Pitt coach Sue-Moy Chin said she didn’t really see the game turning out how it did. ‘Overall we were disappointed and shocked at how we responded in the game,’ said Chin. ‘We eased up after the first goal, and we weren’t sharp at all because we played as individuals.’ Chin said that Pitt will learn from the loss and that she is looking forward to having a successful season. The Panthers regroup this week and prepare for the match-up against Dayton Friday evening to kick off a tournament at the University of Illinois. ‘I think we are going to be OK,’ said Chin. ‘Hopefully we got the bad play out of our season so we can go back to playing Pitt soccer.’ The Panther women have a tough Big East schedule ahead of them, along with several aggressive and strong out-of-conference opponents in teams like Illinois, Charlotte and Arizona. Big East play begins on the road Sept. 18 against West Virginia. Pitt will also face Syracuse, Rutgers, South Florida, Marquette and Seton Hall on the road. Chin said that if her team can start playing with more cohesion and stop playing as individuals, Pitt will be a strong team and should pull off some good wins. And after ending last year with a disappointing record of 6-10-2, she said the expectations for a rebound are high all around. Pitt returns eight starters and 15 letter-winners from last season, and much of the team’s success will be pushed to its youth. The Panthers have only two seniors in Jennifer Kritch and Kylie Veverka. Kritch and junior Ashley Habbel led the team last year in goals (five each), and the entire defense returns as well. Habbel, a forward who started all 18 games a year ago, also led Pitt in assists, points and game-winning goals. At goalie the Panthers return junior Alison Finch and sophomore Morie Kephart. Finch and Kephart both have starting experience. ‘We had a strong preseason, and we have depth in every position,’ said Chin. ‘We also have exciting matchups on our schedule, so right now our focus is on getting back to where we know we can play so we can take on Dayton next Friday.’