Soccer falls to Georgetown

Early goals by Georgetown’s Daniel Grasso and Danny McAnally proved to be all the offense the… Early goals by Georgetown’s Daniel Grasso and Danny McAnally proved to be all the offense the Hoyas needed Wednesday, as they dropped the Pitt soccer team by a score of 3-1 at North Kehoe Field.

The Hoyas’ offense took just over 14 minutes to get rolling, when Grasso took a midfield pass from McAnally. Grasso dribbled just inside the box and fired the ball past Panther goalkeeper Jordan Marks to give Georgetown an early 1-0 lead.

Marks redeemed himself a few minutes later, saving a Ricky Schramm penalty kick and deflecting the rebound. Schramm was taken down in the box by the Panthers’ Matt Firster, but failed to capitalize.

However, only a few minutes later, Georgetown would score their second of two goals in 25 minutes to ultimately capture the win. It was McAnally this time getting the score, hitting the right post on his own rebound in a scramble in front of the net, and watching the ball squeak over the goal line for the final score of the half.

“Georgetown’s a good team,” Panthers’ coach Joe Luxbacher said. “At times we played well, but with inconsistent stretches.”

Both teams came out slow after halftime, but Pittsburgh woke up first. Pitt’s Eric Jaeger made the lethargic Hoya defense pay by stealing the ball deep in Georgetown territory and blasting it past Georgetown goalkeeper Andrew Kezsler from the far side to cut the Panthers’ deficit to one.

But the Panthers could not build upon Jaeger’s tally, as Grasso – who has four goals in his last four games – again found the net. His second goal of the game off a failed Pittsburgh clear attempt eliminated any momentum the Panthers had, setting the final score at 3-1.

“We can’t get it done,” Luxbacher said of his team’s inability to come away from a tight game with a win. This marks another page in the book of a disappointing season for Pitt.

“It’s been a script,” Luxbacher said. “It’s been a very frustrating year. We’re just not where we have to be.”

On a more positive note, Luxbacher has noticed a bright spot in the Panthers’ lineup. Sophomore Eric Jaeger, who tallied Pitt’s only goal, will hope to be a difference-maker in the future.

“You need a bunch of leaders on the field,” Luxbacher said. “[Jaeger] does a solid job each game.”

The win moves Georgetown to 10-7 overall, 6-4 Big East, putting them in position to earn a berth in the Big East tournament with a win Saturday at Connecticut.

The Panthers (3-11-1, 2-9) have lost eight of their last 10. They will conclude their season at home, hosting the Providence Friars at Founders Field tomorrow at 1 p.m.