How many coaches get the chance to coach and beat the No. 1 team in men’s soccer?

“If you’re… How many coaches get the chance to coach and beat the No. 1 team in men’s soccer?

“If you’re not in our conference you probably don’t,” Panthers’ head coach Joe Luxbacher said. “The Big East conference is incredibly strong.”

Pitt is in a situation where it gets to play six to seven quality teams each year. Luxbacher loves the challenge of playing great programs like Notre Dame, UConn and St. John’s, which is predicted to win the Big East in 2004.

Pitt, however, is slated to come in last place. But Luxbacher won’t allow that to get to him, for he is very optimistic that his young, talented team can climb up the standings of the Big East.

“I’m confident we’re going to be a solid team,” Luxbacher said.

The Panthers only lost one player to graduation last year and hope that the large number of freshmen who saw playing time last year will be better this year. Luxbacher explained that, last year, the depth was not there.

“Last year we did not have a good year on the scoreboard, but weren’t a bad team,” Luxbacher said, explaining how Pitt lost eight games by one goal and tied another. All were games that could have gone either way for the Panthers, but at the end of the day, they were still on the losing end.

This year could prove to be different. There will be competition at every position on the field. If someone is not performing, there will be someone ready to jump in and take over.

Luxbacher would even jump in and play if he could.

“Nothing replaces playing,” Luxbacher said, explaining how much he misses playing the game. “There’s so much that is not in your direct control and where, as a player, it is. You either do it or you don’t As a coach you get frustrated at times ’cause there’s a lot more things you can’t control. Coaching I enjoy, but I miss playing.”

He misses playing, and rightfully so. He had an amazing collegiate career. Luxbacher was a member of the Pitt Panthers from 1971 to 1974. During his career, he collected a school record 37 goals, a mark that still remains untouched today. In fact, the closest player to him has only 30 goals.

He also has four career hat tricks as a Panther, including a double-hat trick. In 1971, Pitt was playing Edinboro and defeated them 10-0. Luxbacher scored a school-record 7 goals and notched an assist in that game.

“Everything I hit went in,” Luxbacher said. “It was an unbelievable game.”

The most impressive thing about Luxbacher’s totals is that he did it all in only three years of play.

Luxbacher was a transfer from the school 80 miles south of Pitt that Panther fans don’t speak of. He initially chose to attend West Virginia University because they had the major he wanted to study, but ran into trouble when the classes he needed were only offered in the afternoon. He was forced to choose between soccer and classes. So he left West Virginia for Pitt.

Yes, he may have been a Mountaineer for a year, but all is forgiven because he is a Panther at heart and has worn blue and gold for the majority of his life. He grew up in the South Hills and makes his home in Upper St. Clair today. He is now heading into his 21st year as Pitt’s head coach.

The head-coaching job fell into his lap because he happened to be in the area.

“Pitt knew that I was here,” Luxbacher said with a smile.

And with that, he became Pitt’s second men’s soccer coach. He has led Pitt to 11 winning seasons, including a 14-6-1 record in 1995. That team made its way all the way to the Big East Championship Final where they eventually lost 2-0 to St. John’s.

“Nobody expected us to get to the final,” Luxbacher said.

Nobody expects the Panthers to do anything this year either, but it’s all about the chances. The Panthers have a 10-game Big East Conference schedule ahead of them, and if the key returning players, such as forward Keeyan Young, midfielder Marco Carrizales and goalkeeper Justin Lowery, can lead their team to a few upsets, Pitt can be in contention for the Big East title.

This team has knocked off ranked teams before, and as long as Luxbacher is at the helm, a few more will fall.

“You’ve got to be ready to play,” Luxbacher said. “It’s a tough schedule, but that’s what we like. Good players want to play good teams.”

And great coaches want to play great teams.