Men’s soccer clinches post-season berth with win

The Pitt men’s soccer team clinched a playoff position in the Big East Tournament yesterday… The Pitt men’s soccer team clinched a playoff position in the Big East Tournament yesterday with a 1-0 win over Georgetown (5-11-0, 2-8-0) at Founders Field, thanks to freshman Mike McDade’s goal.

The playoff berth is the first for Pitt (5-9-2, 4-4-1 Big East) in six years, but the Hoyas were seeking a spot in the playoffs themselves with a victory that would knock the Panthers out of contention.

“The game was obviously a good win for our guys. Both teams knew what was at stake going in, both teams were fighting a big effort. It was a tough, hard-fought game,” head coach Joe Luxbacher said. “Both teams fought hard, both teams had chances, our guys hung in there. I thought our guys earned the win.”

As had been the case several times this season, both teams failed to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Senior Keeyan Young’s strike went too high over the goal in the 35th minute. Thirteen minutes later, Georgetown’s Mike Glaccum’s shot also went over the Pitt goal.

In the 57th minute, it looked like a Hoya offensive paid dividends when Ricky Schramm knocked in a goal off of teammate Hunter Joslin’s pass. But Schramm was called offsides and the goal was negated.

Three minutes later, the Panthers launched their own attack when freshman Matt Baker headed a shot on the left side, but Georgetown goalie Andrew Keszler caught Baker’s shot. Tom DeCato’s shot also went high for Pitt in the 82nd minute, but the game still had yet to be decided.

That task went to McDade. At the 85:35 mark, the Plum native took Tyler Bastianelli’s pass and fired a rocket from 30 yards that hit nothing but the back of the Georgetown net. It was McDade’s first career goal, and probably the most important one for the Panthers so far.

Pitt outshot Georgetown, 13-10, and 6-5 on shots on goal.

Goalie Andy Jorgensen made his contribution with five saves to record his fifth shutout this season. Pitt has a 4-4-2 record with Jorgensen manning the net. Keszler tallied five saves himself for the Hoyas. Baker and Schramm led their respective teams with two shots on goal each, while Baker’s four total shots were a game-high.

Georgetown is eliminated from Big East playoff contention this season. Hoya coach, Brian Wiese would get a taste of the frustration that has recently been plaguing Luxbacher in terms of not capitalizing on opportunities.

“Tonight’s game was really a microcosm of our season,” Wiese said. “We played well, didn’t truly allow Pitt to get behind us, created some chances, but we really didn’t make their goalie make saves. I’m truly disappointed for our seniors who will finish their careers on Saturday. At the end of the day, we just didn’t do enough tonight.”

The Panthers are keeping their eyes forward as they head to Seton Hall for a 1 p.m. game tomorrow and will follow that with a makeup game at West Virginia for the postponed game originally scheduled for Oct. 4.

“It’s very difficult to get into the Big East Tournament. Last year, the five teams that finished ahead of us all got in the tournament, which was almost unheard of in one division of one conference,” Luxbacher added.

“Every team is very strong. On our side of the Big East, Notre Dame and West Virginia are ranked No. 4 and No. 6. I told our guys, ‘We’re not done yet. We’ve got a couple games and they’re going to be tough.’ We’re looking to play well and get some results and see who we draw in the tournament.”