Streak Snapped as WVU Falls in Pittsburgh

Tuesday, September 26

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7:00 p.m.

West Virginia University

6-2-2, 0-0-0MAC

Pitt

4-5-0, 0-3-0ACC

West Virginia

Pitt

September 26, 2017 10:08 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

By: Charlie Healy

PITTSBURGH – The West Virginia University men's soccer team lost at Pitt, 7-0 on Tuesday evening.

The defeat snapped a three-match win streak for the Mountaineers (6-2-2), who were playing their fifth game in the last 14 days, four of them coming on the road. In the first game in the Backyard Brawl rivalry since 2011, the loss snapped a 10-game unbeaten streak against the Panthers (4-5-0). WVU leads the all-time series, 33-10-5.

"At the end of the day, I didn't have my team ready to play today," WVU coach Marlon LeBlanc said. "I take 100 percent responsibility for our performance. It looked like we were a team playing its fifth game in 14 days. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter, we still have to be better. We'll get these guys reenergized, we'll get them refocused and we'll be ready for Sunday."

West Virginia had 13 shots, three on goal, led by senior Jad Arslan, who had three shots, one on goal. Junior goalkeeper Stephen Banick played the first half and made three saves and allowed four goals.

Pitt, who had 13 shots, 11 on goal, scored four goals in the first half and added a fifth in the opening minute of the second half.

The Panthers had the game's first shot in the 11th minute, but Banick provided pressure on the Pitt attacker as the shot went wide from just inside the 18.

WVU's first two chances were wide of the net, by senior Steven James on a header off a corner kick in the 14th minute and by Albert Andres-Llop in the 16th minute.

In the 20th minute, junior Jorge Quintanilla had a chance from the near side, but his shot was saved. One minute later, Arslan had a great opportunity with a strong shot from 25 yards out, but the Pitt keeper tipped the ball high to prevent the score and set up a corner kick.

In the 25th minute, Pitt had its first shot on goal, but Banick made the save on a shot from the near side inside the box.

The home side took a 1-0 lead at 32:46. The play began with a free kick to the far corner of box, which was then headed into the six. Alex Peperak scored from the near side into the far corner.

Pitt took a 2-0 lead three minutes later, at 35:11 on a long shot from 35 yards out by Pol Planellas. The lead grew to 3-0 at 38:24 when Joshua Gaspari scored on a shot from inside the 18 on the far side.

The game stood at 4-0 at halftime, after Alexander Dexter scored at 41:26. The play began with a pass from the far outside corner, which was centered in and scored from 15 yards out.

To open the second half, Pitt made it 5-0 on a goal by Edward Kizza from Joshua Gaspari at 45:59. After a shot went wide by freshman Tsubasa Takada a minute later, the Panthers took a 6-0 lead on Kizza's second goal of the night at 53:36.

Sophomore Logan Lucas had two consecutive shots from inside the 18 blocked in the 56th minute, and Arslan had a shot saved in the 59th. Pitt extended its lead to 7-0 at 65:10 on a goal by Tim Ekpone.

After senior Jose Santos started the second half in goal, freshman Steven Tekesky entered in the 71st minute and made a save three minutes in. Freshman Kevin Morris followed with two shots, one that went high in the 76th minute and another that was saved in the 78th.

In the final minutes, freshman Tom Shepherd had an opportunity from inside the 18, but his shot was blocked away. He added another shot two minutes later that hit the crossbar.

The Mountaineers return home to host No. 20 Pacific on Sunday, Oct. 1, at noon ET at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium. Tickets are available at WVUGAME.com, 1-800-WVU GAME or on game day at the DDSS ticket office. The match is Monongalia County School Day, and elementary and middle school students from schools in the county will be honored at halftime. Additionally, the first 250 fans in attendance will receive free WVU texting gloves.

Single game tickets for all of WVU's regular-season home matches are now on sale at WVUGAME.com or by calling 1-800-WVU GAME. The complete 2017 WVU men's soccer schedule, with match times, can be found here. All dates and times are subject to change, and fans are encouraged to stay tuned to WVUSports.com for updates.

For more information on the Mountaineers, follow @WVUMensSoccer on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.