Women’s soccer finishes road trip with tow wins

It didn’t take long for the Pitt women’s soccer team to capture its first Big East… It didn’t take long for the Pitt women’s soccer team to capture its first Big East Mid-Atlantic divisional victory of the season. The Panthers won their division opener Friday on the road against Georgetown.

Pitt (4-4-1 overall, 1-0-0 Big East Mid-Atlantic) won both of its games over the weekend, ending a six-game road trip. The Panthers defeated the Hoyas 2-1 and capped off the weekend Sunday night with a 3-0 victory over cross-town rival Duquesne.

“I thought we played the best soccer we’ve played thus far this season,” Pitt head coach Sue-Moy Chin said. “[The players] worked hard. They executed well.”

Pitt 2, Georgetown 1

Pitt put an end to the three-game winning streak held by Georgetown (3-6-0 overall, 0-1-0 Big East) in the first divisional game played by both teams.

The Panthers struck first at the 23:47 mark of the game. After a missed shot off of the crossbar by defender Erin McFarling, forward Cara Senger picked up the rebound and scored to put the Panthers up 1-0.

The Hoyas tied the game at one at 51:59 when Jen Choiniere scored off of a pass from Shara McNeill from 10 yards out. McNeill, the Hoyas biggest offensive threat, was held to just one shot and had the only Hoyas assist.

The final goal of the game was the difference in the match, as defender Lisa Schulte scored her first career goal as a Panther. Schulte’s goal was assisted by forward Kristina Francois at the 80:27 mark to put the Panthers past the Hoyas and get them their first conference win.

Pitt 3, Duquesne 0

The Panthers remained on the road Sunday in the final game of their road stretch, but they didn’t find themselves far from home as they traveled to Duquesne.

Pitt opened its scoring early when forward Emily Tipton scored at 16:44. After Dukes goalkeeper Virginia Bond stopped a shot by midfielder Erin Hills, Tipton was able to tap in the rebound to put the Panthers on the board.

At 59:41, Senger scored a goal for the second consecutive game to put the Panthers up 2-0. After receiving a pass from forward Sara Gutting, Senger put in the shot from 25 yards out.

Hills put the nail in the coffin late in the game, scoring on a direct kick at 89:47 to give Pitt a 3-0 advantage and secure the win for the Panthers.

The Panthers offense produced an impressive five goals over the weekend to pick up both victories. But what was perhaps even more notable was the play of goalkeeper Jamie Pelusi, who registered a total of 15 saves in the two games and earned her third career shutout.

” Jamie played great all weekend,” Chin said. “She made things easy for us.”

Play continues for the Panthers Friday, as they host Miami in what begins a six-game home stand. This is the first home game for the Panthers since a Sept. 6 win over Maryland-Baltimore County.

“It’s great playing at home,” Chin said. “It’s very important, with the conference being as strong as it is. The girls are excited to get back.”

Friday’s game against Miami is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and will be played at Founders Field.