Panthers lose pair of Big East games

Looking to break into the Big East Tournament for the first time since 1998, the Pitt women’s… Looking to break into the Big East Tournament for the first time since 1998, the Pitt women’s soccer team encountered a rough start this past weekend, losing its first two conference games. The weekend saw two Panthers notch their first career goals, Notre Dame fall behind for only the third time all season and also quite a few penalty kicks.

Notre Dame 3, Pitt 1

After holding Notre Dame, the No. 1 team in the nation, scoreless for more than 70 minutes, Pitt nearly pulled off a colossal upset. The Panthers held a one-goal lead with 20 minutes remaining, until a flurry of Irish goals proved to be too much to handle in falling 3-1 before 2,087 fans.

“The girls played really hard, competed well, and battled with them,” head coach Sue-Moy Chin said, happy with the progression the team has made thus far in the season.

Midfielder Erin Hills tallied the lone goal for the Panthers, a score that gave the Panthers a surprising 1-0 lead with 15 minutes remaining in the first half, an advantage they would keep throughout the half. After Katie Surma’s free kick deflected off a defender and found its way to Hills, the junior forward placed a shot right under the crossbar. The goal was her first of the season.

Pitt started the second half strong, especially on the defensive end, deterring any Irish scoring chances early on. Jamie Pelusi stuffed an Irish forward on a breakaway for one of her seven saves to preserve the Panther lead.

But with the Panthers unable to mount a solid offensive attack, it appeared to be only a matter of time before the Irish put in the equalizer.

In the 71st minute Irish defender Melissa Tancredi took a cross pass from a teammate and deflected the ball over Pelusi to even the score at one. Not even three minutes later, Notre Dame forward Katie Thorlakson was awarded a penalty kick after being taken down inside the penalty box. She put in the eventual game-winning goal for the Irish (9-0, 3-0 Big East). Notre Dame added an insurance goal in the closing minutes to seal the win.

“They are setting new levels and standards,” Chin said about her players. “It was a good step for our program to see that we could play with the No. 1 team in the country. I couldn’t be more pleased”

Boston College 4, Pitt 1

Perhaps feeling the effects of a late Friday night away game, an exhausted Panthers squad returned home to Founders Field to a fresh Boston College squad and a 4-1 loss on Sunday afternoon.

“We fought hard. We were pretty spent from Friday’s game, both emotionally and physically,” Chin said after the game. “Mentally we were in it, but physically our bodies just haven’t recovered.

The Eagles (4-4, 3-0 Big East) scored just three minutes into the game off a cross that was finished on a header. Controlling the tempo early on, BC created numerous scoring chances and beat the Panthers to nearly every 50-50 ball, especially in the air. Pitt defender Carli Brill attributed the Eagles’ confident play to their ability to win such balls.

“Winning balls in the air is always a big factor,” Brill said after the game. “It gives the other team so much confidence if they are beating you to the ball.

At the 30:39 mark, Pitt found the back of the net when sophomore Kristina Francois laid a ball across the plain of the goal and junior Lisa Schulte knocked in a left-footed shot. The goal was her first this season.

Pitt appeared to tire as the game wore on, however, especially in the final 25 minutes of the game. It was in this span that the Panthers (3-4, 0-2 Big East) stopped generating dangerous scoring chances and became susceptible to many scoring opportunities for the Eagles.

“Our legs were just really tired from Friday,” an exhausted Brill said. “Our steps were slower than usual.”

Boston College scored three goals in the span — two by way of penalty kicks — to put the game out of reach. Eagle Jenny Maurer placed each penalty shot in the bottom right corner of the net after being fouled inside the penalty area on two separate occasions.

Pitt next plays Providence at 1 p.m. Wednesday in a make-up game from the flood.