Men’s soccer season ends typically

The Pitt men’s soccer season came to end Wednesday evening in the first round of the Big… The Pitt men’s soccer season came to end Wednesday evening in the first round of the Big East Tournament.

Despite their stingy defensive play, the Panthers (5-11-2, 4-5-1 Big East) were unable to score for the second straight contest and eventually fell to St. John’s University (10-5-2) 1-0 in front of 658 people in Queens, N.Y. The victory gave St. John’s a double-digit win total for the 16th consecutive season.

Pitt applied offensive pressure early and often.

Senior Tyler Bastianelli nearly put the Panthers on the board in the 26th minute of the match. His shot was deflected by Red Storm goalkeeper Jason Landers to keep the game scoreless.

Minutes later, junior midfielder Matt Langton had another chance to put Pitt ahead, but his shot sailed left of the goal.

Despite the early pressure by the Panthers, St. John’s managed the first and only score of the game.

In the 38th minute of play, freshman Ryan Soroka received a lead pass from Tadeu Terra 15 yards out from the Pitt goal. Soroka’s shot slipped passed Panther goaltender Andy Jorgenson to give the Red Storm the 1-0 advantage, one that they would not relinquish. The goal was Soroka’s team-leading sixth of the season and second score in as many games.

Freshman Matt Baker nearly knotted the score in the 62nd minute, but Landers made his second and final save of the contest to preserve the St. John’s victory.

It was the third straight shutout victory for the Red Storm.

“It was a hard fought game,” Pitt head coach Joe Luxbacher said. “The difference in the game was they had one or two chances and scored one, and we had them and didn’t. That’s been our M.O. all year. Our guys played hard, but you only give up one goal and you’re away from home you have to think you’re going to score one.”

Despite the early deficit, Pitt was actually out-shot 10 to three in the second period and 15 to seven for the match. As in their final regular season game, the opposing goalie needed two saves to notch the shutout. Part of the shot disparity may be attributed to the red card and subsequent ejection given to Matt Langton in the 84th minute of play.

Even in defeat, the goaltending of Andy “Tex” Jorgenson was phenomenal once again. The senior transfer had five saves in his last game as a Panther.

“One of the most pleasant things for me this year was to see Tex really blossom into the goalkeeper he was capable of being,” Luxbacher said. “I thought he was as good or better than any goalkeeper in the Big East. He really came into his own this year. He struggled last year, and he really battled through it, and he had what I think is an outstanding year for us.”

Although Pitt would have liked to make it past the first round of the playoffs, there were many positives to take from the season. This was the Panthers’ first postseason action in six years.

“Obviously, we would have liked to have done better, but we definitely took steps forward,” Luxbacher said. “In our division, just to make the tournament is an achievement. Of the four teams ahead of us, two of them are in the top 10. We were very competitive and very close in the Big East. We took a step forward, just a small step. Now we have to continue that. I thought we were better this year, now we just have to take a couple steps forward next year.”