Frustrating matches end Pitt’s season

It was a tale of two halves for the Pitt women’s soccer team this season, and it ended in a… It was a tale of two halves for the Pitt women’s soccer team this season, and it ended in a tough way over the weekend at Founders Field.

Pitt dropped a 2-1 decision to Marquette on Friday night, then capped off a dreadful second half of its season with a 0-0 double-overtime tie against the South Florida Bulls.

After a strong start, the Panthers were 6-3 and on the track to the Big East tournament. They couldn’t establish consistency, however, going winless in their last nine to finish the season at 6-10-2 overall and 1-8-2 in the Big East.

The Panthers will have a lot to look forward to next year, though, as they graduate just three seniors from a squad brimming with young talent.

Sophomore Ashley Habbel, who led the Panther offense throughout the season, will return to head what should be a strong and driven Panther attack next fall.

Pitt head coach Sue-Moy Chin said that with more experience, the team as a whole will be much improved.

“We’ve learned a lot this year,” Chin said. “I’m really excited about the future of this program.”

Even with a disappointing end, Chin said she was proud of the seniors and the team.

“They’ve kept their heads up,” she said. “They’ve kept battling all year long.”

Marquette 2, Pitt 1

In hostile conditions on a mud-covered field, the Panthers couldn’t quite find their traction as they came out on the wrong side of a hard-fought battle against Marquette on Friday night.

Marquette struck early in the ninth minute when a beautiful cross from the left side found Golden Eagle Michelle Compty, who lofted a header deep into the corner of the net past diving Pitt goalkeeper Morie Kephart.

Pitt’s defense held the rest of the half, but its offense couldn’t establish much of anything, registering zero shots on goal.

The Golden Eagles capitalized early in the second half when the muddy conditions led to a key Pitt turnover.

Immediately after a throw in, Marquette’s Allison Mallams took a screaming cross from the right side and launched it past Kephart to give Marquette a 2-0 lead.

Freshman Laura Berbert nearly put Pitt on the board in the 86th minute, but her free kick sailed just over the net and the score remained 2-0.

Pitt continued to battle, though, and Jennifer Kritch scored just one minute later for the Panthers off an Ashley Habbel cross.

The Panthers kept up their intensity and hustle, creating several scoring chances in the last couple minutes, but couldn’t convert as the game drew to a close.

After being out-shot 7-3 in the first half and posting no shots on goal, Pitt out-shot Marquette 8-4 in the second half, putting four of those chances net. “Our effort was really good,” Chin said. “We played hard. We just had a few mental lapses.”

Pitt 0, South Florida 0

On senior recognition day, Pitt looked to break its eight-game winless streak and end the season with a bang.

Despite inspired play and several scoring chances, the Panthers couldn’t get on the board, ending the year with a 0-0 double-overtime deadlock against South Florida.

Ashley Habbel had a terrific scoring opportunity early on when she was one-on-one with the keeper, but missed her shot and ended the threat.

Pitt out-shot South Florida in the first half by posting four shots on goal, while the Bulls had none.

After no challenges in the first half, strong play by Kephart in the second half and both overtimes kept the Panthers in the game

Kephart came up with several key saves to keep the game knotted at zero. Kritch nearly scored in the second overtime, but her shot hit the crossbar and was eventually cleared out of the Bulls’ territory.

Kephart finished the game with five saves, while South Florida’s keeper Mallori Lofton-Malachi came through with seven.

“I thought we played really well,” Chin said. “We had a lot of chances. We didn’t finish.”