Men’s soccer falls to No. 8 Scarlet Knights, 4-1

The men’s soccer team looked to break their seven-year winless streak against Big East rival… The men’s soccer team looked to break their seven-year winless streak against Big East rival Rutgers, but the No. 8 Scarlet Knights (3-1 overall, 2-1 Big East) poured on the offense, defeating Pitt (1-4, 1-1) on Sunday, 4-1.

Rutgers applied early pressure on the Panther defense and continued it throughout most of the first half.

With the score knotted at zero, the Scarlet Knights came up with some close calls. Wes Kirk had an open window and fired the ball on net, but Pitt goalkeeper Justin Lowery dove to his left to make the save. Soon after that, Chris Karcz had a wide-open shot soar just above the crossbar.

Rutgers was the first to get on the scoreboard when Ricardo Arenas used his head to deflect a corner kick from Gustavo Mora at 19:30.

Rutgers struck again when Karcz came in on net alone and Lowery came out to challenge him. Lowery slid and deflected the ball, knocking over Karcz. The ball continued its path on net, hit the left post, and then slowly made its way across the goal line before the closest Panther defender could stop it.

After a couple more close calls, the Panthers caught a break late in the first half when Rutgers goalkeeper Scott Conway made the decision to kick the ball out with Panther forward Billy Brush closing in on him quickly. The kick deflected off of Brush’s leg and went right into the net to make the score 2-1.

The play was set up when Clay Haflich headed the ball to Keeyan Young, who also headed the ball forward to Brush. Brush moved the ball downfield and kicked it in on net, and Conway made the stop for Rutgers.

The Panthers came out for the rest of the second half, feeding off the momentum from the goal they scored late in the second half.

“I thought we played well for the first twenty minutes [of the second half]” head coach Joe Luxbacher remarked after the game.

The Panthers applied pressure on the Rutgers defense, but were unable to get the ball past Conway.

Joe Donoho put the Scarlet Knights up 3-1 when he headed the ball into the net after another corner kick from Mora.

Soon after that, Rutgers sealed the victory with a goal from the Big East scoring leader Josh Gros. Gros used great footwork to move past two Panther defenders and create an opening to the net. He then shot the ball towards Lowery, who at first had made the save before, the ball trickled between his legs and across the goal.

The Panthers offensive woes continued as they scored only their fourth goal in five games this season.

“We’re still searching for answers,” Luxbacher said. “Offense is contagious and [a matter of] confidence. [Once] you score one or two, you’ll be playing better. Our goal is to make the Big East playoffs.”

The Panthers next game will be at home on Sept. 17 against St. Francis at 7 p.m.