Male athlete of the week

Name: Justin Boehm Major: Undecided Favorite Movie: The Prestige Favorite Food: Spaghetti… Name: Justin Boehm Major: Undecided Favorite Movie: The Prestige Favorite Food: Spaghetti Favorite Pitt Place: Sutherland Hobbies: Watching movies and sports

With a tied score and three minutes remaining in the second overtime, middle-fielder Justin Boehm scored the game-winning goal against Marquette Saturday.

With the last game of the season, the Panthers’ win rewarded them with only their third victory of the year.

But for a season where 11 new names appeared on the roster, it seemed almost fitting for Boehm, a freshman himself, to score the final goal.

This is why Justin Boehm is our Male Athlete of the Week.

But where some might seem a glimpse of future seasons, Boehm sees his goal as a tribute to the past.

“It was nice to get the seniors another win,” Boehm said. “Everybody as a team was happy.”

Boehm played in 10 games this season, four of which he started, while netting two goals.

Growing up in nearby South Park, he found the proximity to be encouraging as he began his career playing for Pitt.

“It was really nice,” he said. “Sometimes my friends or my [past] coaches will come down and watch my games. It’s just nice to have people around to watch and talk about the game with.”

The support has certainly helped, he added, as the jump from high school soccer to college soccer proved to be a jarring experience.

“The speed was a lot faster. Everybody here is fast.”

Playing for South Park High School, Boehm didn’t have a problem with speed. In his four years there he scored 41 goals while tallying 68 assists.

And as a first-year player among a group of 10 other freshmen, Boehm believes that the future will bear many victories.

“With us playing together for the next two or three years, we should be able to build better chemistry. There’s no doubt about that. The longer you play together, the better we know each other’s tendencies.”

But as for this season, Boehm prefers to focus on the positive aspects.

“We were always close, we were always in the game,” he said. “We just need to capitalize.”

And, again, he offers homage to the older players.

“There were only a few seniors, but they were a big impact this year,” Boehm said. “Hopefully we can fill their shoes next year.”