The University of Pittsburgh women’s soccer team dropped a 3-0 decision in ACC play Thursday night, falling victim to Boston College in the first of a two-game road swing.
A national powerhouse offense so far this season, the Eagles wasted very little time getting on the board, striking in the fifth minute as Haley Dowd recorded her sixth goal on the year, heading the ball in off of a free kick.
That would be the only offense of the first 45 minutes as Boston College took the 1-0 advantage into the break.
The Eagles would extend their advantage less than 10 minutes into the second period as Jenna Bike would connect on a cross pass in the box from Lauren Berman, putting Boston College up 2-0.
Another header goal in the 84th minute would seal the deal for the Eagles as they took a 3-0 lead. McKenzie Meehan would head the ball into the back of the net following a cross from Gaby Carreiro. The goal was the ninth of the season for Meehan.
Boston College out-shot the Panthers 19-7, as Sarah Krause led the Pitt offense with five shots, three of which were on goal. Senior keeper Taylor Francis made two saves, allowing three goals on 19 shots faced.
“Between Haley Dowd and McKenzie Meehan, we knew they were going to be a handful up front,” said head coach Greg Miller. “We had to try to minimize their touches and not let them get many chances. We let that happen a bit too much. Once again, we gave up a goal on a set piece and that is just inexcusable.
“They are a well-coached team and wanted it more than we did. They were more physical than us, scrappier than us and more intense. Despite the fact that we went down a goal, I thought that we had some chances in the first half to even it up and I was fairly pleased with the effort in the first half. Then, in the second we gave up two preventable goals and then just gave up.”
With the loss, Pitt falls to 1-8-1 on the season and 0-2-0 in ACC play. The Panthers will continue league play on Sunday, traveling to South Bend, Ind., for a 1 p.m. meeting with the 24th-ranked Fighting Irish of Notre Dame. That contest can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN or the WatchESPN app.
“We’ve got to do our best to regroup and do our best to get re-motivated and focus our attention on Notre Dame and coming up with a game plan that is going to try and give us a chance,” added Miller.
“At the end of the day, we have to be more intense. We have to be a little bit tougher, especially on set piece situations. We had six corners in the second half tonight and didn’t convert on any. Those are the moments in which we can really take advantage of.”