WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – The Pitt men’s soccer team hit the road for the first time this season and suffered a 4-0 defeat at William & Mary on Friday, Sept. 5.

“I thought we did some good things, but we can’t make mistakes,” said head coach Joe Luxbacher. “I thought we were a bit too complacent. When we could have gone forward, we looked to just pass on.”

“We made some bad decisions in the middle-third of the field with the ball. Three of their goals came off bad passes. We tried to make a pass we shouldn’t have, they cut it off and caught us on the counter.”

Reilly Maw finished with two goals and assisted on both others for the Tribe, while Chris Albiston tallied the other two scores. Josh West contributed a pair of assists and Jackson Eskay added one as well.

Bennett Jones needed just two saves for the shutout.

In the loss, junior goalkeeper Dan Lynd made a season-high four saves.

The Tribe (2-1-0) tested Lynd early as Maw put a shot on goal less than three minutes into the game. It wouldn’t be long until Maw got another chance, however, this time heading a corner kick from West into the left corner to give William & Mary a 1-0 lead 5:43 into the contest.

William & Mary registered two more shots, including one on goal before the Panthers had their first of their four attempts of the half in the 28th minute. In the final three minutes of the half, redshirt junior Ryan Myers looked to tie the game with a pair of shots, but his first was saved and the second sailed over the crossbar.

Pitt (1-1-0) opened the second half with corner kicks on opposite sides of the field in the first 2:15, but couldn’t make anything of the opportunities.

It took the Tribe nearly the same amount of time into the second half as the first to put another goal on the scoreboard and add to its lead. Following a turnover in Pitt territory, Maw collected the loose ball and threaded a pass to Albiston, who had already beat Pitt’s final defender. Albiston took Lynd one-on-one, and with his left foot fired a shot into the lower right back of the net at the 50:30 mark.

“The second goal – that was the one that broke our back because up until that point we were in the game and playing pretty well," said Luxbacher. "William & Mary’s a good team, but I think we are too. It just all came apart tonight after that second goal.”

Less than 10 minutes later, Albiston was at it again, notching his second goal of the night following a nice passing sequence by the Tribe. Maw started the play by sending a pass to Eskay, who found Albiston on the left side near where he scored his first goal. And just like his earlier score, Albiston went low-right by Lynd for the 3-0 advantage.

William & Mary closed out the scoring with its fourth and final goal in the 85th minute. West intercepted a pass near midfield and led a 3-on-1 charge into Pitt’s half of the field. He dribbled to the top of the box and dropped a pass to a cutting Maw from behind. Maw recorded his second goal of the night on a shot into the top left corner.

The Tribe held a slight edge in shots at 11-9, however, eight were on goal compared to just two for the Panthers. For the second time in as many games this season, Pitt had more corner kicks than its opponent, finishing with an 8-4 advantage.

Pitt has a short turnaround and returns to the pitch on Sunday, Sept. 7 when across Virginia to take on Longwood at 11 a.m.

---

RECOMMENDED FOR YOU

Men's NCAA Tournament First Round Recap

TeamRank Presented By TeamSnap - Boys

Midwest High School Roundup - Nov.