Pitt Men's Soccer Tripped Up By Clemson

October 11, 2014

PITTSBURGH - Clemson received a goal in each half as Pittsburgh lost to the Tigers 2-0 on Saturday, Oct. 11 at Ambrose Urbanic Field in an Atlantic Coast Conference game.

After evening its record at 3-3-3 on Sept. 30, Pitt (3-6-3, 0-4-1 ACC) has lost three in a row. Prior to this week, the Panthers were undefeated (3-0-3) against teams that failed to qualify for the 2013 NCAA Tournament. With two losses this week Pitt is now 3-2-3 versus the same competition.

Clemson's (6-6, 3-2 ACC) goal scorers were Austen Burnikel and Manolo Sanchez. Kyle Fisher was credited with an assist on the first goal. Goalkeeper Chris Glodack didn't face a shot in the first half, but made four saves in the second for his first individual shutout of the year.

Junior goalkeeper Dan Lynd was tested early and often in the opening half, making all three of his saves in the game's first 21 minutes, including one less than four minutes in.

For the remainder of the first half, Clemson only put one more shot on goal, but made it count with a score just two minutes later in the 23rd minute.

Moments before goal, two crisp passes led to a shot in the box, but a block by the Panthers defense denied the opportunity. Clemson retained possession, however, and capitalized on the extra chance. Fisher fed Burnikel on the right side of the box and Burnikel sent a low shot to the opposite corner of the goal by Lynd for the 1-0 lead.

Clemson continued controlling possession after the score, tallying the next three shots to up its first half total to nine. The Tigers also had five corner kicks in the opening half while Pitt was held to no shots or corner kicks.

Picking up right where the left off, the Tigers recorded another shot not even a minute into the second half.

The tides would turn in favor of Pitt shortly after that as the Panthers gained possession for a good run early in the second half after Clemson's failed shot. That gave the Tigers a 10-0 advantage is the shot column to that point.

However, over a 15 minute span, Pitt would fire the next four shots and get its first corner kick of the night. It started with redshirt junior Ryan Myer's try from the top right corner of the box.

In the 59th minute, the Panthers had by far their best chance of the game. Junior Patrick Dixon played a low corner kick to sophomore Kevin Murray, who was cutting towards the baseline by the near post. Murray redirected the shot towards the opposite corner for what looked-to-be the equalizer. But Alexandre Happi held his ground by the post and made a defensive save to preserve the one-goal game.

Despite more even play continuing through the second half, Clemson was able to add to its lead and make it 2-0 on Sanchez's goal in the 71st minute. After briefly losing possession of the ball, Sanchez took control of it again, cut back and juked the Pitt defender. Sanchez then directed his shot by a splitting Lynd to the lower left corner to double the lead.

Feeling a sense of urgency in the final 10 minutes, Pitt placed two more shots on goal. Looking for any open holes, Myers and Dixon settled for long shots outside of the box forcing Glodack to make two final saves to earn his shutout.

Pitt played much more competitively in the second half, but still lost the overall shot (14-7) and corner kick (5-2) battle.

The Panthers host Howard for its second straight home game on Tuesday, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m. ESPN3 will broadcast the match.