Firster’s goal not enough as soccer stumbles again

Despite a second-half goal and a tenacious effort by the defense on Saturday, the Panthers… Despite a second-half goal and a tenacious effort by the defense on Saturday, the Panthers could not boost their Big East Tournament hopes. The Panthers fell to Notre Dame, 2-1.

Notre Dame attacked right from the start. The Fighting Irish scored their first goal in the fourth minute when Alex Yoshinga converted a corner kick, pushing a shot past goalie Jordan Marks into the back of the net. Marks was starting his fourth straight game since replacing Justin Lowery in the net.

The Irish then added early insurance three minutes later when an unguarded Greg Dalby put a loose ball in the back of the net.

“You can’t make mistakes against a team that’s not going to concede many goals,” head coach Joe Luxbacher said. “You get two goals behind against them, you’re fighting an uphill battle.”

Notre Dame held the offensive advantage all day, outshooting Pitt 16-5 and taking 12 corner kicks to the Panthers’ two.

But despite the statistical imbalance, the Panthers still hung in the game. They took advantage of one of the few opportunities they had in the 63rd minute. Irish goalie Chris Cahill got a piece of Brendon Smith’s blast, but freshman Matt Firster knocked in the rebound to cut the deficit in half.

However, the wheels of Pitt’s offense fell off after that, and Notre Dame’s defense stifled the Pitt attack, giving the Irish (9-5-2 overall, 5-4-1 Big East) their second straight win. In a physically contested match up, the Panthers were cited for 20 fouls to Notre Dame’s 11.

“It’s been a very frustrating year, obviously, because we have some players playing good at times, but we don’t have everyone on the same page,” Luxbacher admitted. “We’ve had some injuries, but guys have to step up and make the most of their opportunities.”

Luxbacher stressed that the Panther offense has to create more opportunities.

“We dug ourselves in a hole,” Luxbacher said. “[We’ve] had some guys out and we just haven’t been scoring goals.”

Pitt travels to Washington, D.C., for today’s 2 p.m. matchup against Georgetown. The Panthers (3-10-1, 2-7-0), with six points in the Big East standings, are four points behind Providence. The Friars hold the Blue Division’s final Big East Tournament spot. There is still a slight chance for the Panthers to gain the sixth seed, but Luxbacher admitted that Pitt’s struggles make that chance very slim.

“We still have an outside chance of making it if we beat Georgetown and Providence,” Luxbacher said. “And we need some help if Providence loses to Marquette.”