Women tie USF, lose to Marquette

Not even the festivities of senior day were enough for the Pitt women’s soccer team to end an… Not even the festivities of senior day were enough for the Pitt women’s soccer team to end an 11-game winless streak.

The Panthers did manage a tie on the weekend, coming back from 2-0 to earn a draw with South Florida Friday night. That tie was overshadowed by a 2-0 loss to nationally ranked Marquette two days later, however, as the Panthers slipped to 2-8-3 on the season, and 1-4-2 in the Big East.

Pitt 2, South Florida 2

Even Pitt’s tie over the weekend was hard to come by.

South Florida (5-4-3 overall, 0-3-3 Big East) jumped on Pitt early in the Friday night affair, notching a goal from Jessica Zabel 29 minutes into the contest. Erica Lewis upped the lead to 2-0 nine minutes later when she knocked home a corner kick from Katie Reed.

Pitt responded in the second half, however, outshooting the visitors 13-6 over the final frame and getting on the scoreboard in the game’s 55th minute. Senior Aimee Romasco headed a shot off a perfectly placed ball from junior Carli Brill that found its way into the net.

“I really challenged them at halftime,” head coach Sue-Moy Chin said on www.PittsburghPanthers.com. “I challenged them to be better and to fight hard for the remaining 45 minutes. Aimee Romasco had a great game. She really wanted it, she fought hard and you could see her desire. She has great speed, so she played outside midfield for us tonight to create some more attacking pressure. She had a great goal tonight.”

The Panthers scored their second goal of the game on a penalty kick eight minutes later. Meta Haley beat two defenders off the dribble and was tripped inside the penalty box, setting up the kick. Corina Sebesta took the shot and knocked it in to knot the score at two. Neither team posed too serious a threat in the overtime session, and as a result had to settle for the draw.

Marquette 2, Pitt 0

Marquette’s high-powered offense proved to be too much for an offensively maligned Panther squad to handle, as the Eagles – ranked No. 9 in the nation – knocked home two goals on 14 shots.

“Marquette is a very good team,” Chin said on the Web site. “In the first half, we gave them too much space, and when you give a team of that caliber too much space, they are going to capitalize. We played better in the second half and put more pressure on them. We played well and worked hard. I hope to carry the positive things from the second half of the game into our games next weekend.”

The Golden Eagles (12-2-1, 5-2) notched goals in the 18th and 49th minutes, both assisted by Lauren Weber. Jamie Pelusi, playing in her final home game for the Panthers, stopped nine shots on the afternoon.

Pitt had a few opportunities on the offensive end, the best coming off a rocket shot from Sebesta in the game’s 25th minute. However, all efforts were deterred by Marquette goalkeeper Laura Boyer.

The Panthers return to action Friday when they travel to Washington, D.C., to take on the Georgetown Hoyas.