Pitt beats Buffalo of The first round of the NCAA College Cup tournament at home. The bleachers at Ambrose Urbanic Field were full on Saturday night.
According to senior forward Leah Pais, this win shows how far they’ve come as a program.
“We continue to break down barriers as a young team like this,” Pais said. “You know, some of the freshmen…and the first year, when you believe in each other and in the power that everyone can put on the field, things can be made possible.”
pit (12-4-3, 5-3-2 ACC) It’s been a historic season so far, and its first postseason victory adds another milestone to the list. Between qualifying for both ships, the Panthers’ 2022 campaign still has a chance to further their legacy.
bulls (15-1-4, 7-0-4 Mack) They won an early possession battle, but Pitt’s defense quickly shut them down. Soon after, the Panthers got the ball and gave sophomore forward Samia a net chance to her Phili, but she missed the net. This was the first of her three shots Pitt made in her first seven minutes of gameplay.
The opportunity cooled to the 18th minute, when Buffalo sophomore forward Jasmine Garber hit a shot in the Panther defense that went just wide. Buffalo had just three total shots, compared to Pitt’s 11 earlier in the game.
Late in the first period, the Panthers increased pressure on the Bulls defense. In the 22nd minute, Fili opened up a goal chance with a perfect cross to sophomore Sarah Shpanski, but Buffalo goalkeeper Emily Kelly made a big save and shot just outside the post. The Panthers often crossed the ball into the box in the first half to create many scoring chances, but were unable to capitalize on them.
Neither scored a goal in the first half, and they were sent off to the locker room with the score tied. at zero. The Panthers spent most of the half trying to put pressure on the Buffalo defense but failed to get a shot on goal. The problem continued late in the game.
The second half started like the first, with the Buffalo possessions quickly handed over to the Panthers. Ball spent a lot of time in the Bulls box, giving Kelly another save in the 53rd minute.
Buffalo did not hold the ball for long before Pitt took it directly into the box for another shot. Still, the Panthers couldn’t break through.
Around the 64th minute, Buffalo began to put pressure on the Panthers defense when senior defender Ashton Gordon fouled the Bulls on a penalty kick. The Bulls kicked a headed pass straight in the box, but Pitt’s senior goalkeeper Caitlin Lazarini perfectly timed the jump and deflected the shot.
The Panthers pushed the ball on offense throughout the game, creating many scoring chances. With a 75-minute breakaway, Schupanski got free estate. In a showdown between her and Kelly, Szpanski shot the ball just to the right of the goalpost. The score remained 0-0 for her.
At this point in the game, time was running out and both teams worked hard to take the lead. Offensively, Pitt slowed down a bit with just six shots in the second half compared to 11 in the first half. Pitts head coach Randy Waldrum was impressed with the many chances his team created, but admitted he needed to be sharper in the upcoming rounds.
“We had more chances tonight than we’ve had in the last few games,” Waldrum said. “Now I think we have to be careful to be clinical, because the deeper we run, the less chance we have.”
Luckily, the Panthers got their last chance to score in the 84th minute.
Pais tripped during the Panther’s attack and fell hard to the ground in the box, waiting seconds for a penalty call. She remained in the box, but the referee continued play. Then she saw her senior midfielder Anna her bout kick the ball across the box. Pais had a perfectly timed quick run and put her perfect header into the net. The Panthers took her to a decisive 1-0 lead with six minutes left on him.
After a strong defensive stand, the game-ending horn rang and the Panthers made history.
The Panthers will face Georgetown in the second round on Friday in Florida. This is the first time in program history. The game will start at 2pm and will be streamed on ESPN+.
