PITT 6, DELAWARE 1
Edward Kizza had a breakout freshman campaign in 2017, scoring four goals and three assists and made an impact in several key games.
The Panthers forward from Uganda, by way of Monteverde Academy in Florida, is off to a good start in 2018.
Kizza racked up his first career hat trick in leading the Panthers (1-1) to its first win of the 2018 season in a 6-1 rout of Delaware on Monday.
“I’m proud of the concentration our team brought to the match,” Jay Vidovich, Pitt’s Head coach said. “We are growing as a team. Our relationships on both sides of the ball are improving, as is our willingness to work for each other. We created some tremendous team goals that lead me to believe that we have a lot of potential in front of us.”
Pitt didn’t waste anytime jumping ahead of Delaware, as Kizza scored in the second minute of the match with clinical finish from a ball sent into the goal box from Alexander Dexter.
Kizza’s goal opened the floodgates to a five goal outburst in the first half — as Javi Perez converted a penalty kick in the eighth minute, redshirt senior Robby Dambrot added a goal in the 27th minute, Kizza’s second on a header that bounced downward and into goal from a perfectly placed lofting cross from freshman left back Chandler Vaughn, and the Panthers rounded out the first half scoring as Nyk Sessock set up Fiorre Mane.
Kizza completed the hat trick in the 58th minute, banging home a loose ball in the box.
???? | Pitt’s SIX goals versus Delaware, a thread: ????
Goal 1: Dexter➡️Kizza#H2P pic.twitter.com/O7yuWfTW7K
— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) August 28, 2018
Goal 4: Kizza with the header from a Vaughn cross.#H2P pic.twitter.com/WlXIUMoyjT
— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) August 28, 2018
Goal 6: Kizza completes the hat trick!#H2P pic.twitter.com/NLMmJlxiEr
— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) August 28, 2018
Delaware would go on to record its first goal of the game at the 55:39 mark in the second half, but Pitt would quickly answer back after Kizza finished off his hat trick less than a minute later, giving the Panthers a 6-1 lead and the eventual win.
In goal, freshman Johan Penaranda got the starting nod, recording a save while allowing one goal in more than 67 minutes of play. Redshirt junior Jacob Rooth closed the game for Pitt, recording a save in his 22 minutes of action.
As a team, the Panthers led the Blue Hens in shots (10-4) and shots on goal (9-3) while Delaware finished the match with a 4-0 advantage in corners.
Up next, Pitt will travel to Akron, Ohio, to face the fourth-ranked Zips Saturday, Sept. 1 at 7 p.m.