Pitt and WVU end in a 3-3 tie

Pitt and West Virginia scored three goals apiece in regulation at the Mountaineer Soccer… Pitt and West Virginia scored three goals apiece in regulation at the Mountaineer Soccer Complex Tuesday night, but shut each other out in the two overtime periods to finish in a 3-3 tie, with the Panthers blowing a two-goal lead.

Freshman midfielder Thomas DeCato jump-started the Panthers’ offense with his first career goal. He would later make the most of this career day by scoring his second goal as well.

DeCato’s first goal came when he controlled the ball off a rebound that Mountaineer goalkeeper Nick Noble could not hold on to. DeCato fired the ball past Noble from 18 yards out to put the Panthers up 1-0 just 4:56 into the game.

The second DeCato goal came in the second half when he took a pass from forward Keeyan Young and shot the ball from 15 yards out, beating Noble to put the Panthers up 3-1.

Despite having the 3-1 lead, the Panthers, for the third time this season, allowed a lead to get away.

Mountaineer forward Jarrod Smith accepted a pass from midfielder Cole Beasley, and shot the ball past Panther goalkeeper Justin Lowery. The goal came at 70:03 and cut Pitt’s lead to one.

Just two minutes later, the Mountaineers struck again, when midfielder Devon McTavish tied the game at three on a shot from 10 yards out. The goal was his second of the game, and his fifth goal of the season.

The goal came at the 72:46, with midfielder Albert Smith assisting on the play.

McTavish’s first goal was scored in the first half at 28:07. The play was set up when Rusty Girton passed a kick from 40 yards out to McTavish. McTavish used his head to deflect Girton’s pass into the net past Lowery.

Panther midfielder Brendon Smith scored the other Pitt goal of the day. It was an unassisted tally at 50:22 when he headed a ball that deflected off the post, past Noble, putting Pitt ahead 2-1.

In the two overtime periods, the teams combined for 10 shots; Pitt with four, and West Virginia with six.

The Panthers forced Noble to make two saves in the overtime period, but they were unable to beat him for the game winner.

This was Pitt’s second double overtime game in the past three games. Young notched the game winner in the last overtime game, but only managed a single shot on goal in the game.

The latter part of the game featured a lot of physical play between both teams, and the bitter rivalry between Pitt and West Virginia was alive. From the 62nd minute on, there were six yellow cards and three red cards.

Young, who has six goals and two assists this season, was the lone Panther who received a red card, and that means Pitt will play its next game without their leading scorer.

Pitt’s next game is against Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Oct. 24 at Founders Field