Women’s soccer finishes season with Big East loss

When the Big East conference let the teams know that the women’s soccer game between Pitt and… When the Big East conference let the teams know that the women’s soccer game between Pitt and Georgetown had to be made up, Georgetown — then in seventh place — saw an opportunity to move up in the standings to as high as fifth.

Pitt, however, already eliminated from postseason contention, had no such motivation.

The Hoyas used motivation to their advantage, taking control early and coasting to a 4-0 win Wednesday night at Founders Field.

“We came out wanting to win for our seniors, even if there was no postseason to play for,” sophomore midfielder Corina Sebesta said afterward.

Georgetown tallied goals from Sara Jordan and Casey McCann, but it was an early double by reigning Big East Offensive Player of the Week Nicole DePalma that opened the scoring and put the game out of reach.

DePalma’s first was a simple finish, as she received a cross coming from Jordan on the left side. DePalma was unmarked just outside of the six-yard box, and had time to control the ball and touch it home to the left of Pitt goalkeeper Jamie Pelusi, giving the Hoyas the lead just five minutes into the game.

The second goal for DePalma came just inside of 20 minutes, and from even closer range, as Pelusi was unable to handle a cross that passed right across the front of the goal. The ball went directly to the foot of a hustling DePalma, who tapped the ball in before Pelusi could recover.

Pitt’s only quality scoring chance during the first half came when Erin McFarling carried the ball down the left flank after working a give-and-go with Sebesta in midfield. McFarling worked her way into the box, and crossed low to the foot of Kristina Francois, who struck a powerful shot that sailed left of the post.

Jordan’s goal, the result of a four-on-three situation in counter-attacking, came in the 28th minute. She received the pass by herself, pinching in from her left-side position, and powered a shot to the right of Pelusi, whose effort was only able to redirect the ball into the goal.

The halftime score stood at 3-0, and with the result no longer in doubt, Lailah Isaac relieved Pelusi in goal for the second half, but the change was by no means a white flag.

“We’ve started slow a lot this year; we want to work on coming out stronger in the first half,” Sebesta said, “but it got better in the second today.”

She also reiterated, “It was mostly for the seniors.”

The second half was brighter for the Panthers, as only McCann’s goal for the Hoyas added to the final score.

Sebesta nearly put the Panthers on the board with 10 minutes to play, as she let fly a hard shot from outside the penalty area. The shot was within the reach of Georgetown goalkeeper Jade Higgins, but the velocity of the shot forced her to mishandle the ball. Higgins recovered before anyone could play the rebound, ending the final scoring chance for either side.

The Hoyas, with the win, finished with a record of 9-8-1, 5-4-1 in the Big East, qualifying them for the fifth seed in the conference tournament. The Panthers end their season at 6-10-1, 2-7-1 in the Big East, leaving them in 10th place for the season.