Women’s soccer streak comes to an end

Although it may not draw as many fans as its undefeated compatriot, the men’s football team,… Although it may not draw as many fans as its undefeated compatriot, the men’s football team, the Pitt women’s soccer team has quietly put together an impressive streak of its own.

Heading into last weekend’s matches against Marshall and Ohio universities, the Panthers had won an unprecedented four straight games to begin the season. Their head coach Sue-Moy Chin, although pleased to be undefeated, has preached consistency and strong defensive play as the key to the team’s success.

The Panthers played well in both respects over the past weekend, but were unable to muster enough offensive support in a Friday night tie against Marshall and a Sunday afternoon overtime loss against Ohio, their first defeat of the 2006 season.

Pitt hopes to return to the win column this week as it opens conference play on Friday against the 17th-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown, W.Va.

Pitt 1, Marshall 1

The Panther women, walking with a strut, put their undefeated streak on the line on Friday night against the Marshall Thundering Herd. Although it was unable to secure a victory, the team remained unbeaten after a 1-1 double-overtime tie.

Marshall, coming off an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Delaware, played like a team desperate and determined to win. This was evident early in the match when in the 16th minute, Kassie Hollman blasted a direct kick 25 yards outside of the penalty box to put the Thundering Herd up 1-0.

Pitt responded with a goal of its own three minutes into the second half, when Megan Watson found Corina Sebesta, who tiptoed past one defender and fired a shot from 30 yards away.

The ball landed in the upper right corner of the net and was the third of the season for the streaking Sebesta, whose performances have been red-hot. As the game progressed, both teams were unable to capitalize on multiple scoring opportunities, which resulted in the 1-1 tie.

Despite earning a tie, the Panther players and their coach were not necessarily content.

“It was a frustrating game,” head coach Sue-Moy Chin said on PittsburghPanthers.com. “We played well enough to win but we couldn’t finish; we need to do a better job of finishing our chances.”

Pitt 1, Ohio 2 (2OT)

Western Pennsylvania teams seem to provoke a winning spirit in the Ohio University Bobcats. Prior to handing the Panthers their first defeat of the season on Sunday, the Bobcats had only recorded one previous victory this year, the sole win against Robert Morris University.

Despite their 1-3 record, the Bobcats gave the Panthers quite a fight and, after two overtimes, emerged victorious 2-1.

Playing in front of a home crowd at Chessa Field, the inspired Bobcats were the first team to score when freshman Amy Lower capitalized on a nifty cross pass from Sarah Merritt that put Ohio up 1-0 in the game’s 23rd minute.

The Panthers’ emerging star and team leader senior Corina Sebesta continued her hot streak by scoring a goal in the game’s 39th minute to tie the score at 1-1. Sebesta took advantage of a loose ball in front of Bobcat’s goalkeeper Jess MacLean and shot it over her head to score her team-leading fourth goal of the season.

The goal would be the last for either team in regulation, as the game headed into overtime.

After a scoreless first period, it looked like the Panthers were going to secure their second straight double overtime tie, when Ohio’s Rachael Goulding connected on a corner kick from Lindsey Price with less than three minutes remaining in the period, giving the Bobcats the 2-1 victory.

The loss dropped the Panthers to 4-1-1 while improving the record of the Bobcats to 2-3-0.