No. 8 Pitt blown out, 4-1, by No. 17 Georgetown in D.C.

Photo courtesy Georgetown Men's Soccer

No. 8 Pitt men’s soccer faced a tough opponent in No. 17 Georgetown in Washington, D.C. Friday and ended up losing big, 4-1, for their first loss of this season.

The Panthers’ (1-1-1) loss to the Hoyas (2-1), is the first time they’ve given up four or more goals since 2019. They also did it against the Hoyas on the road in a 5-0 defeat in the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, as the Hoyas would go on to win the National Championship that year. This is also the first regular season loss for the Panthers since a 3-1 defeat at home to the Virginia Cavaliers in September 2022.

Georgetown took the lead in the sixth minute, as sophomore midfielder Max Viera put a cross into the box that found senior midfielder Kyle Linhares. Linhares then took the shot first-time on the volley and it went down low into the bottom left-hand corner of the net for the goal.

GOOOALLL!!! MAX VIERA ➡️ KYLE LINHARES and the Hoyas are on the board 6 minutes in!#HoyaSaxa #SurroundShaw pic.twitter.com/Up85iBRnsz

— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) September 1, 2023

Hoyas senior defender Kenny Nielsen got the ball off a header in the box and shot it with his right foot past Panthers sophomore goalkeeper Cabral Carter to double the lead in the 21st minute.

Captain Kenny Nielsen with a rocket to put the Hoyas up 2!!! 🚀#HoyaSaxa #SurroundShaw pic.twitter.com/EvTXLRWDvz

— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) September 1, 2023

The goals kept coming for Georgetown in the second half. Linhares scored his second goal of the match in the 48th minute, thanks to a great through ball from his teammate. Linhares then took the ball cut on to his right foot and placed it into the bottom right-hand corner of the net.

LINHARES BRACE!! Come for the goal, stay for the celly 🤸‍♂️#HoyaSaxa #SurroundShaw pic.twitter.com/EBThyAJEwP

— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) September 1, 2023

Hoyas junior midfielder Joe Buck started the next attack, as he took the ball off of senior midfielder Felipe Mercado and got a through ball from Linhares. Buck then ran onto the pass, took one touch and put his shot to Carter’s right for the fourth goal of the game in the 54th minute.

Count 'em 1…2…3…4!!! Joe Buck adds another to the Hoya tally!#HoyaSaxa #SurroundShaw pic.twitter.com/M58FHW7ywH

— Georgetown Men’s Soccer (@GUHoyasMSoccer) September 1, 2023

The only bright spot for Pitt came in Temple transfer and junior midfielder Luka Kozomara, who scored in the 79th minute. This made it two goals in back-to-back matches for him, giving Pitt something positive in a bad loss.

Pitt returns home to take on a great opponent in No. 5 Marshall next Tuesday, Sept. 5 at 6 p.m. The ACC Network will also broadcast this game, making it one of the more popular ones in the country next week.