
From University of Pittsburgh athletic department report:
NEW YORK, N.Y. – A first half goal by Alexander Dexter lifted Pitt’s men’s soccer team over No. 14 Columbia, 1-0, Tuesday evening at Rocco Commisso Stadium in New York City.
“Columbia was a tremendous opponent,” said second-year head coach Jay Vidovich. “We had a great start to the match and found a great goal. From then on, it was just a battle to finish out the game. Our guys were warriors and I’m very proud of their efforts.”
The victory marks the squad’s second consecutive win over a nationally ranked team, and third straight win overall. Pitt defeated No. 21 Syracuse less than a week ago, 2-1, at Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh. Prior to the pair of wins, the Panthers only previous wins against ranked teams occurred six years apart, vs No. 20 Rutgers in 2008 and No. 16 Notre Dame in 2002 in recent years.
Pitt improves to 6-5-0 overall on the year, while the 14th-ranked Lions suffer their first loss of the season, moving to 5-1-2 overall.
Early offensive control by Pitt paid off in the end as freshman Dexter netted the lone goal of the night in the 41st minute. After receiving the pass on the left side from junior Javi Perez, Dexter broke down a Columbia defender and chipped the ball up over the keeper for his third goal of the season.
Redshirt sophomore Mikal Outcalt earned his third clean sheet of the year and the fifth of his career.
Columbia finished the match with a 15-7 shot advantage, while shots on goal were knotted 3-3. The Panthers reach the six-win mark for the first time since the 2012 season when they finished 6-9-2.
The Panthers return to Pittsburgh Friday, Oct. 6 to face their third-straight ranked opponent in No. 19 Duke at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The ACC match-up is set to get underway at 7 p.m.
