Women’s soccer drops tough game to Robert Morris

Wednesday was another stormy day for the Pitt women’s soccer team.

Despite dominating the… Wednesday was another stormy day for the Pitt women’s soccer team.

Despite dominating the game in every statistical category, the Panthers came up short against the Robert Morris Colonials 2-1 yesterday afternoon at the North Athletic Complex.

Despite out-shooting Robert Morris 16-7 and holding the edge in corner kicks, 6-2, Pitt couldn’t capitalize. The loss was the Panthers 12th in a row, dropping their record to 3-13 overall and 0-9 in the Big East.

The Panthers came out hard and took control of the game early, playing much of the first half at the Colonial end of the field. Pitt’s offense showed early signs of getting back on track by firing nine first-half shots on Colonials keeper Shana Berardi.

With the early pressure, the Panthers found the net first. In the 25th minute of play, senior defender Jacqueline Fix sliced her way through the Colonials’ defense and blasted a shot inside the near post giving the Panthers a 1-0 lead.

Despite numerous scoring chances in the first half, Robert Morris managed to hold the Panthers at bay, with the score remaining at 1-0 heading into the half. This was only the second lead the Panthers have had in the last month, and left many with a sense of deja vu from last weekend’s game against Boston College.

Like the Boston College game, the tide seemed to turn in the second half yesterday. The Colonials made some offensive adjustments at the half and it showed early on, as the Colonials had several odd man rushes on the Panthers’ defense.

The Pitt defense held under the attacks until the 57th minute, when Robert Morris was awarded a free kick from 15 yards outside the box.

Angela Story booted the ball over the heads of all the Panther defenders and found her teammate Lauren Meyer open in the air. Meyer headed the ball over the outstretched hands of Pitt net minder Jamie Pelusi, equalizing the game at one apiece.

With the momentum shifting in favor of the Colonials, the Panthers tried to get back into the game and steal back some of the momentum, but the Robert Morris defense and Berardi were up to the challenge, snuffing out any Panther scoring chances.

With the field conditions in total disarray and footing getting tricky, the players from both teams began slipping and sliding through the water logged field.

However, the pace of the game didn’t slow down, as Pitt tried to take advantage of the sloppy field, but was still unable to capitalize.

In the 72nd minute of play, the momentum would shift for good in favor of Robert Morris. Story found a seam in the Panther defense and was unmarked inside the box in front of Pelusi.

Story took the ball off an irregular bounce and lifted it over the head and outstretched hands of Pelusi, ending the scoring.

After the second Colonial goal, the style of play became physical, with each team receiving a yellow card from the officials for hard hits.

The Panthers began to feel a sense of urgency and made an all-out effort to tie the game. However, it wasn’t enough.

Panthers’ head coach Roland Sturk could only shake his head after the loss.

“We dominated the game in every offense category but were still unable to get the win,” Sturk said. “We’re finding ways to lose games and our mistakes continue to hurt us.”

The look on the faces of the Panther players coming off the field also told the story.

“Morale is bad right now because we’re not doing what we need to do to be successful,” Sturk said.

The Panthers will return to action Sunday at Founder’s Field when they will host Virginia Commonwealth. Game time is set for 1p.m.