Panthers end their season with won over Orangemen

Billy Brush recorded a hat trick to push the Panthers past the Orangemen 3-2 on Sunday at… Billy Brush recorded a hat trick to push the Panthers past the Orangemen 3-2 on Sunday at Founders Field.

The forward’s first of three goals came at 43:03 when he took the pass from midfielder Jeffrey Tidd and blew the shot by Syracuse goalkeeper Alim Karim. The shot, from 25 yards out, curved its way inside the far post and tied the game at one before the half ended.

Brush’s second goal came less than a minute after Syracuse took a 2-1 lead.

Brush worked himself away from the Syracuse defense and shot the ball to the top corner of the net. The unassisted goal came at 52:37.

Pitt (6-11-1 overall, 3-6-1 Big East) forward Keeyan Young recorded an assist on Brush’s third goal. Young passed the ball over to Brush, who shot it into an open net, as Karim was out of position. With that assist, Young finished the year as the Panthers’ leading scorer, with six goals and three assists.

With that goal, Brush became the 11th Pitt Panther to record a hat trick.

The goal came at 59:29 and put the Panthers up 3-2. It was Brush’s fifth goal on the season and made him the second-leading scorer on the team. Joe Luxbacher, who just completed his 20th year as the Panther’s head coach, explained how it was confidence that helped Brush score three goals. He said that, once he scored the first goal, the rest just fell into place.

“Confidence is a big thing,” Luxbacher said.

Syracuse (4-8-5, 1-5-4) scored its first goal when forward Jeff Evans took a pass from forward Kirk Johnson and sent a shot past goalkeeper Justin Lowery. The goal came at 24:57 and gave the Orangemen the early 1-0 lead.

Midfielder Frank Bruno put Syracuse up 2-1 early in the second half with his team-best fourth goal of the season. The play was set up by a pass from midfielder Ilias Calaitzidis. Calaitzidis crossed the ball to Bruno, who shot the ball just inside the post for the go-ahead goal at 51:57.

Each team registered 11 shots on the day, with Brush and Calaitzidis each recording five shots apiece.

Lowery made four saves in the game, and finished the season with his sixth career win. Lowery started all 18 games for the Panthers this season, with a 1.82 goals-against average. He made 88 saves on the season and recorded four shutouts.

“Good way to finish [the season],” Luxbacher said.

Luxbacher explained that although this season was disappointing record-wise, they should be competitive next year. He spoke of his young players who will be returning next year, and how he expects them to come out next year with more knowledge of the game. They will begin training in January for the 2004 season.

“Hopefully they learned [that] Big East soccer is the best there is,” Luxbacher said.

Since the Panthers were eliminated from playoff contention in their last game, the game against Syracuse meant nothing in terms of standings, but it did serve special meaning to one player in particular.

It was Clay Haflich’s last collegiate start for Pitt. The senior defenseman did not record a shot or an assist in the game, however. It was his 71st consecutive start in a career that featured six goals, two assists and numerous defensive plays that kept the ball out of the Panther goal.

“Clay has been a rock for us,” Luxbacher said. “As a leader and a captain, we have never had anyone like him. We’ll miss him tremendously.”