Panthers fall to nationally ranked Fighting Irish

Notre Dame scored early and late to defeat the Pitt men’s soccer team 2-0 on Sunday.

The… Notre Dame scored early and late to defeat the Pitt men’s soccer team 2-0 on Sunday.

The Fighting Irish recorded 13 shots, forcing Pitt goalkeeper Justin Lowery to make nine saves in the game.

“This is a good team we played today,” Pitt head coach Joe Luxbacher said. The Irish are ranked No. 4 in the Soccer America poll, and have allowed only seven goals all season.

Notre Dame started the scoring in the third minute of the game, when Irish midfielder Chad Riley kicked the ball into play on a corner kick. Kevin Goldthwaite used his head to deflect the ball on Panther goalkeeper Justin Lowery. Irish forward Justin Detter finished the header by kicking it over Lowery and into the net.

Soon after the goal, Notre Dame (7-1-3 Overall, 3-1-1 Big East) pressured the Panthers (3-8-0, 1-4-0) again when defensemen Kevin Richards kicked the ball from midfield to Detter. Detter used his head to deflect the ball on Lowery, who made the save.

Brian Madden kept the Irish from scoring a goal when he made the save on a ball heading on net. The play originated from an Irish shot on which Lowery dove to make the save. The rebound went right into the feet of an Irish player, who then shot the ball on net.

Just minutes later, Detter slashed down the left side and crossed the ball to the middle, where Irish forward Tony Megna shot the ball towards Lowery. Lowery used his fist to punch the ball out of harm’s way.

With twenty minutes to play in the first half, Panther midfielder Billy Brush came close to knotting the score at one. He had a clear shot at the Irish goal, but when he shot the ball, it flew just above the crossbar.

With a minute left in the first half, Lowery received more help from his teammates. Clay Haflich slid in to make a save on a ball kicked on net. Lowery again had made the initial save, but he was out of position for the rebound.

The Irish offense continued to put pressure on Pitt in the second half.

Detter connected with Megna for another scoring chance just two minutes into the half. Lowery made the save on Megna’s shot.

With 30 minutes left to play, Lowery made a save that awed the crowd.

Riley crossed to Detter, who crossed to forward Devon Prescod. Prescod shot the ball towards the right side of the net. Lowery dove to his left and got his right hand on the ball, deflecting it out of the box.

The Irish tallied an insurance goal at 71:49.

Richards moved the ball to midfielder Greg Martin, who crossed it to Riley. Riley kicked the ball above Lowery, who jumped to make the save, but the ball was kicked high and out of his reach. The ball came down just below the crossbar and traveled into the net.

The Panthers had two final scoring chances to finish the game. Panther midfielder Marco Carrizales crossed the ball to midfielder Jeffrey Tidd with six minutes left to play. Tidd fired the ball on Irish goalkeeper Chris Sawyer, who made the diving save.

The second scoring chance came when Carrizales shot the ball past Sawyer, who came out to challenge. The shot flew over the crossbar and out of play.

“We had three quality scoring chances [in the game] that we didn’t put in” Luxbacher said. The Panthers managed only five shots. Sawyer only had to make two saves to preserve the shutout for the Irish.

The Panthers look to rebound on Wednesday against Bucknell. The game is at 7 p.m. at Founders Field.