Big East’s best punishes Panthers

Pitt men’s soccer continued to struggle on Friday, losing to No. 2 ranked Connecticut, 4-0…. Pitt men’s soccer continued to struggle on Friday, losing to No. 2 ranked Connecticut, 4-0.

The Panthers found themselves lagging behind, 3-0, at the half after the Connecticut offense erupted with three goals in 11 minutes (26, 31 and 37).

Despite better defensive play in the second half, Pitt couldn’t solve its offensive woes. Pitt failed to capitalize on three corner kicks.

The Panthers have now played four games in a row against top-20 opponents. In front of a crowd of 4,329, the Connecticut attack put on a show,.

Connecticut found the back of the net one more time at the one-hour mark. It was the final blow to the Panthers’ defense.

UConn out-shot the Panthers, 17-6, putting 10 of those shots on goal and allowing just two on goal from Pitt. Goalie Eric Barnes tallied five saves for the Panthers.

Despite the loss, Pitt coach Joe Luxbacher said there were some bright spots for his team, which is still fighting for a spot in the Big East tournament.

“The game wasn’t as bad as the score made it seem,” Luxbacher said. “We did some very positive things, but we made a few mistakes.”

Those mistakes were enough for Connecticut forward O’Brian White, who capitalized on Pitt’s defensive errors and tallied three scores on the game

White, a junior, now leads the Big East in goals with 11 this season. It was the first hat trick of his career.

“He’s very talented,” Luxbacher said of White. “We knew that going in. But they have a lot of weapons, and it’s hard to get focused on just one.”

The win was just one more in a continuing trend for the Huskies.

Connecticut improved its record to 11-1-0 (5-1-0 Big East). They have now shut out eight of their 12 opponents, allowing three goals this season.

The Panthers (1-8-2, 0-4-1 Big East) continue their tough stretch of games. Pitt will try to rebound Wednesday night at home against nationally ranked West Virginia.