Men’s soccer starts 0-2 in Big East

The Pitt men’s soccer team might be running out of time.

After starting the season 1-4-1… The Pitt men’s soccer team might be running out of time.

After starting the season 1-4-1 in non-conference play, Pitt lost its first two Big East games of the season this past weekend, 2-0 at Syracuse and 4-1 at St. John’s.

At 1-6-1 (0-2 Big East), the Panthers are already considered a long shot to advance to postseason play.

Pitt’s next opportunity for a conference victory will play out on Saturday at Founders Field against South Florida.

Head coach Joe Luxbacher could not be reached for comment.

Pitt 0 Syracuse 2

More than one hour of play was necessary before the first goal was scored in Friday’s contest.

The lack of scoring certainly cannot be attributed to a lack of opportunities. Pitt had five shots in the first half alone, two of which were blocked and one saved by Orange goaltender Robert Cavicchia.

Syracuse countered with six shots in the first period. Jordan Marks, Pitt’s junior goalkeeper, tallied all three of his saves in the first 45 minutes.

Sixty-seven minutes into the match, Syracuse’s Hansen Woodruff finally put the Orange on the board with a free kick that sailed into the right corner of the net.

Pitt nearly answered 10 minutes later, but E.J. McCormick’s shot was blocked and the Panthers remained scoreless.

Woodruff finally put the game away in the 86th minute as he beat a defender in the box and easily placed his shot left of Marks.

Syracuse remains undefeated (4-0-3) in the regular season.

Pitt 1 St. John’s 4

Pitt once again remained in a scoreless deadlock through the first half of Sunday’s match at St. John’s.

This time around, however, the Panthers lack of offensive production was due to limited chances. Pitt was out-shot, 12-3, and only five saves by Marks kept the game from being any more lopsided.

The Red Storm’s Nelson Becerra scored the game’s opening goal in the 50th minute on a chip shot from six yards out.

Pitt freshman Joe Prince-Wright answered five minutes later on a shot to the low left corner of the net. The goal was Prince-Wright’s first as a Panther.

The game remained tied for more than 10 minutes. St. John’s Jeff Stepan finally broke the knot with the first of his two goals of the day. Stepan deftly placed a header past Marks for the go-ahead score. Minutes later, Stepan once again scored on a header to give the Red Storm some breathing room.

St. John’s Michael Luk put the finishing touches on the Red Storm victory in the 75th minute with a chip shot over the outstretched arms of Marks.

With the win, St. John’s improved to 4-3-1 (2-0-0 Big East) on the season.