Shorthanded Pitt falls to No. 7 Syracuse, 3-2

Photo courtesy Syracuse Men's Soccer

FINAL:  Syracuse 3, Pitt 2

From University of Pittsburgh Athletics Department Report 

Playing a man down for the majority of the second half, the Pitt men’s soccer team (3-3-2, 1-1-1 ACC) fell on the road to No. 7 Syracuse Friday night at SU Soccer Stadium 3-2. Luis Sahmkow and Abdoulaye Toure scored for the Panthers in the tough road loss.  It was the defending National Champions’ first ACC win of the season.

Pitt got on the board first in the fifth minute as Filip Mirkovic sent a great ball to midfield where Abdoulaye Toure streaked in and found Albert Thorsen on the right side of the box. Thorsen made a quick move and fed Toure who buried the ball into the left corner

5' | GOALLLLLL‼️

Albert Thorsen finds Abdoulaye Toure who buries his second goal in as many games to give Pitt the early lead.

Pitt 1, No. 7 SU 0#H2P pic.twitter.com/E7iOVVUyZw

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) September 22, 2023

Syracuse responded with a goal of their own in the 12^th minute as Mateo Leveque sent a corner into the box where Gavin Wigg headed one towards the net and Lorenzo Boselli headed the ball into the upper right corner to make it 1-1.

Two heads are better than one. 🍊

Watch: https://t.co/Ab4DThkcTd#DareToDream pic.twitter.com/YLUB144bOz

— Syracuse Men's Soccer (@CuseMSOC) September 22, 2023

In the 16^th minute, Luis Sahmkow had a great scoring chance as he took a feed from Thorsen and ripped a hard right-footed shot towards the top corner but the Syracuse keeper poke the ball over top of the cage.

Syracuse had a great chance in the 25^th minute as Nathaniel Edwards took a cross and ripped a hard shot towards the right corner but it went over the cross bar and out of play.

The Panthers took the lead back in the 28^th minute as Mateo Maillefaud made a great spinning move, dribbled in and found Sahmkow at the top of the box where the junior bent a hard reight-footed shot inside the right post for his sixth of the season.

28' | SAHMKOW IS ON 🔥🔥🔥🔥

Maillefaud finds Sahmkow who bends one inside the right post for his fourth goal in two matches.

Pitt 2, No. 7 SU 1#H2P pic.twitter.com/q1NAidIBDZ

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) September 22, 2023

Raphael Cilli made a big save in the 35^th minute as he headed away a shot that was bound for the right corner of the Pitt goal.

34' | Raphael Cilli with the save of the match on the line for Pitt.

Pitt leads No. 7 Syracuse 2-1 with 10 minutes to play in the first half.#H2P pic.twitter.com/Hxw532Sej6

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) September 22, 2023

The Orange broke through with the tying goal in the final minute of action off the corner kick as Gavin Wigg used his chest to score into the right corner.

Not a bad time for your first collegiate goal. 🍊

Watch: https://t.co/Ab4DThkKIL#DareToDream pic.twitter.com/p0stch3Yl8

— Syracuse Men's Soccer (@CuseMSOC) September 23, 2023

Syracuse had a good scoring chance in the 47^th minute as Felipe D’Agostini saw his hard shot just miss the top corner of the Pitt goal.

The Orange took the 3-2 lead in the 56^th minute as Jeorgio Kocevski took a cross and found the lower right corner of the net for his first of the season.

Cabral Carter came up with his best save of the night in the 64^th minute as he dove to his left and punched the ball just right of the corner to keep the score 3-2 in favor of Syracuse.

64' | WHAT A SAVE BY CABRAL CARTER 🤯

Pitt trails 3-2. Time to dig deep.#H2P // @NCAASoccer pic.twitter.com/Ha1QHtQQ65

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) September 23, 2023

Michael Sullivan received his second yellow card of the match in the 66^th minute and the Panthers were forced to play the rest of the match down a man.

In the 85^th minute, it looked like Eben McIntyre had tied the match but the referee said the ball crossed the end line before he scored and gave the Orange a goal kick.

Pitt finished the match with just nine players after Cilli was shown a red card in the 86^th minute. The Orange played keep away the rest of the match to earn the 3-2 home victory.

MATCH STATS

• The Orange held the 15-5 edge in shots and the 10-5 lead in corner kicks in the win
• Goalkeeper Cabral Carter made three saves in the loss for the Panthers while Jason Smith finished off the win for Syracuse with two saves

MATCH NOTES

• With the loss, Pitt is now 11-10-5 all-time against the Orange including a 4-7-3 record on the road
• Pitt is now 46-2-3 when scoring the first goal of the match since the beginning of the 2019 season including a 3-1-0 record this season
• Junior Luis Sahmkow netted his career-high sixth goal of the season in the loss
• Abdoulaye Toure scored in his second straight match, marking the first time in his Pitt career he scored in two straight
• Albert Thorsen notched his second career assist while Mateo Maillefaud recorded his career-best third assist on the season in the loss

UP NEXT

• Pitt returns home Monday, Sept. 25 as they welcome No. 19 Denver to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a non-conference showdown. Monday’s match will kick at 7:00 pm and air live on the ACC Network.