Panthers downed by ND

Yet another nationally ranked Big East powerhouse strolled onto Founders Field to take on… Yet another nationally ranked Big East powerhouse strolled onto Founders Field to take on the Pitt men’s soccer team Wednesday night.

Once again, the Panthers fell without a peep from their offense.

Pitt only tallied one shot on goal and three shot attempts in its 3-0 loss to No. 4 Notre Dame. The match was the final home affair for Pitt on the season. The Panthers have two games remaining on their schedule. The first kicks off at Saturday at 1 p.m. at Georgetown.

It was the second straight shutout against the Panthers and the fifth overall in Big East play.

Pitt’s record dropped to 2-12-2, 0-8-1 in conference games. The team has a Big East-low one point and is in last place. Meanwhile, Notre Dame improved to 10-3-3 and 7-0-2 in the Big East.

Early defensive inefficiencies and offensive ineptitude sealed Pitt’s fate against the Fighting Irish. Notre Dame went ahead with two goals in the first five minutes and scored the final goal of the match only 14 minutes in.

The defense tightened after that, but there was no solving the Panthers’ offensive woes.

Sloppy field conditions didn’t help either, with players on each side slipping and falling down throughout the match.

Coach Joe Luxbacher wasn’t happy with his team’s performance early in the match.

“We had seven, eight guys busting their butts but two or three guys weren’t ready to play,” Luxbacher said. “That’s all you need to lose, it’s a team game.”

“We just didn’t defend two crosses the first four minutes of the game.”

Those two crosses had a familiar ring to them. Both were kicked by Joseph Lapira and ended up as goals thanks to sophomore Justin Morrow.

Lapira set up a perfect ball in the third minute for Morrow, who scored past a helpless Eric Barnes. Only two minutes later, Lapira sent another pass from the right side to Morrow in front of the net. This time, Morrow used his head to net his third goal of the season.

Pitt had a chance to slice the deficit in half in the seventh minute. E. J. McCormick attempted a header off of a Matt Langton pass that appeared to be heading to the back of thee goal. But Notre Dame goalkeeper Chris Cahill made a wonderful outstretched save to keep the shutout intact.

The save would be Cahill’s only one of the night. Pitt never attempted another shot on goal.

Notre Dame’s third goal again was created by Lapira. His cross was headed in a clearing attempt by a Pitt defender but wound up right at the feet of Michael Thomas. His shot into the back of the net was his first goal of the year.

Jordan Marks replaced Barnes at goalie at the onset of the second half and benefited from Pitt’s improved defensive effort. He also made a few amazing saves, the best coming in the 80th minute on a leaping attempt after a free kick by Thomas.

Pitt’s offense opened up in the final 10 minutes, but every chance failed to yield even a shot on goal.

The closest the Panthers came to cutting into the lead occurred when Connor Malone sent a long ball towards the net in the 86th minute. Cahill jumped for the ball but missed it. Unfortunately for Pitt no other Panther was in the box waiting for a rebound, and Notre Dame halted the attack with a clear and cemented the final score.

Notre Dame dominated every statistical category. The eye-popping figure is a 15-3 shot advantage for the Fighting Irish, 10-1 in shots on goal.

Physical play by the Fighting Irish and the wet field could have attributed to a few injuries on the Pitt club. Freshman midfielder Ryan Brode appeared to hurt his foot early in the second half but remained in the game, and defender Pat Kerr sustained a large bruise.

“The thing is, it’s a 90-minute game,” Luxbacher said. “A couple of kids weren’t ready to play.”