Men’s lacrosse allows late goals in tough loss to BC

The Pitt men’s lacrosse team traveled north last weekend to take on Boston College and… The Pitt men’s lacrosse team traveled north last weekend to take on Boston College and Bridgewater State with a lot of momentum on its side. Prior to these matches, the Panthers were victorious in seven of their eight games, while outscoring their opponents 99-52 in the process.

The Panthers’ only loss came in overtime to Oakland University, which was ranked ninth in the country at the time. This weekend, the Panthers were once again facing a top-10 team, but this time it was the eighth-ranked Boston College Eagles.

The Panthers’ momentum didn’t appear to travel with the team this weekend as Pitt split the two games, losing on Friday to Boston College 8-7, but rebounding a short time later to come from behind and upend the Bears of Bridgewater State 10-8.

Boston College 8, Pitt 7

The Panthers knew they would be in for a tough test when their opponent happened to be a top-10 team that had just lost its first game of the season the day before.

Pitt and Boston College exchanged goals early in the game as the Panthers outplayed the Eagles throughout the first three quarters.

In the first three quarters of play, the Panthers had outshot Boston College and held a four-goal lead, 7-3.

“We felt very confident heading into the fourth quarter,” senior midfielder Dan Huckel said after the game. “We thought we had them right where we wanted them, and I think we might have let down.”

A letdown it was, as Pitt allowed five fourth-quarter goals for the Eagles. Meanwhile, Boston College held the potent Pitt offense at bay, shutting the Panthers out in the final frame.

When it was all said and done, the Panthers had blown a four-goal lead and were on the wrong end of an 8-7 final score.

“It was a heartbreaking loss for our team” head coach Robbie Heaps said. “But we played our best lacrosse in those first three periods, and hopefully this game will be something we can learn from to make us stronger come playoff time.”

Pitt 10, Bridgewater State College 8

Less than 12 hours after the Panthers’ heartbreaking defeat, they were back on the field to take on the Bridgewater Bears.

Seemingly still in the funk that resulted in their fourth-quarter debacle, the Panthers let the Bears jump out to an early 4-0 lead.

After a timeout, the Panthers rallied to tie the game at four before halftime.

“We knew we were playing down to their level,” Huckel said. “Once we started playing our game, we really took it to them.”

The Panthers continued their strong play into the second half and finished the game by outscoring the bears 6-4 in order to cap off a 10-8 victory.

Pitt is hoping that the lessons learned in the Boston College game and the solid performance against Bridgewater will carry over into next weekend’s road trip to Kalamazoo, Mich.

There, the Panthers will take on two conference opponents, with matchups against Purdue and Western Michigan. If the Panthers can win both games and improve their record to 10-2, they will clinch a top seed and a first round bye in the Central Collegiate Lacrosse Association playoffs.