Offense, defense struggle in 2005 campaign

In each of the last two seasons, the Pitt men’s soccer team registered six wins, and they… In each of the last two seasons, the Pitt men’s soccer team registered six wins, and they looked on the verge of a breakout season this year.

This time around, however, much didn’t go right for the Panthers.

The Panthers, led by head coach Joe Luxbacher, finished up the 2005 season on a five-game losing streak en route to a disappointing 3-12-1 (2-9-0 Big East) overall record.

Offensively, inconsistency plagued Pitt throughout the year.

The Panthers were shut out in half of their losses and scored just one goal in seven games, including two that wound up as wins.

The offense scored just 17 goals in 16 games, while putting 154 shots on goal. Dwayne Grant-Higgins led the team in both goals and shots on goal with five and 18, respectively.

Despite missing much of the season because of injury, Keeyan Young ranked second on the team in goals with three and also added an assist, while Steve Cavalier led the team in that category with four.

It wasn’t just a lack of offensive production that caused problems for Luxbacher and his team, though. A strong defense limiting the chances of the other team wasn’t present, either.

Heading into the season, Luxbacher stressed the need for improvement on the defensive side of the ball.

“Our focus will be on the defensive side,” he said in a 2005 preview on PittsburghPanthers.com. “We want to be tighter defensively. We have lost a lot of close games the last two years.”

The defense, in the overall scheme of things, took a step back this season as the close-game losses continued.

Opponents averaged 1.64 goals per game last season on the Pitt defense, but that number increased to 2.39 this year, as the opposition found the net behind a Pitt goalkeeper 10 more times.

Most of the team’s problems came early in the game during the first half, which put them behind right away.

The Panthers scored a total of five goals in the first period on the season, while allowing 20. Their opponents registered 121 shots during the first period of games, one shy of doubling the Panthers’ shot total in the same period.

An excess of shots allowed all three Pitt goalkeepers to see tons of action.

“We need and expect consistency out of the goalkeeping position, and I anticipate that one of the three will emerge as the man who can lead us into the Big East Tournament and beyond,” Luxbacher said of the position.

Justin Lowery saw the majority of the time with 650 minutes on the season. He notched just one win, while posting a 2.22 goals against average and 36 saves.

Andy Jorgensen picked up more than 200 minutes of time, but allowed more than three goals per game.

The one who looked to step up and become the man Luxbacher is searching for was redshirt freshman Jordan Marks. Marks, of McMurray, Pa., saw close to 600 minutes of action in his first season on the field after redshirting last year.

Impressive in his first season, the youngster Marks started six games and picked up two wins, including a 1-0 shutout over Marquette on Oct. 8.

The team will lose a few seniors for next year’s squad, but the goal will still be a trip to the Big East Tournament.

This wasn’t the season Luxbacher – who was recently inducted into the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame – hoped for, but the veteran coach of more than 20 years will regroup and be back at it next season.