Blanked in Berkeley: Pitt women’s soccer can’t convert on chances in 1-0 loss at Cal

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics

From University of Pittsburgh athletic department report 

Pitt (7-3-1, 1-2-0) produced another strong effort that came up just short in a 1-0 loss to Cal (9-1-2, 2-0-1) at Edwards Stadium Thursday evening in Berkeley, CA.

The Panthers outshot the hosts 11-3 on the day and had a pair of shots bang off the crossbar as they controlled the run of play for the majority of the game.

Cal, ranked No. 22 by Top Drawer Soccer, extended its unbeaten streak to 10 matches, while Pitt dropped its second consecutive 1-0 decision in ACC play. The Panthers entered the contest ranked 16^th by Top Drawer Soccer and 11^th in NCAA RPI.

Pitt had its first dangerous scoring opportunity in the 17^th minutes as Sarah Schupansky’s curling left foot strike from the right corner of the box beat the Cal keeper before striking the crossbar solidly and bounding back into play.

Cal countered quickly with a long ball that forced keeper Ellie Breech to come out of the box to beat NCAA leading goal scorer Karlie Lema to a loose ball. Cal gathered the clear attempt 35 yards out and tried a long ball that was easily cleared out of danger by the Pitt defense.

The Panthers added another opportunity in the 37^th minutes as Samiah Phiri took a throw in near the box and used a deft touch to beat two Cal defenders before slotting a centering pass to Keera Melenhorst whose shot attempt from just outside the goal box was smothered by a diving Teagan Wy.

The Pitt defense stuffed a Cal surge three minutes before half clearing a loose ball inside the six following a near collision between Breech and Lema.

The teams entered the break in a scoreless draw with Pitt controlling the pace of play and snuffing out a pair of counter attacks by the Cal Bears. The Panthers tallied five shots, including three on goal, while Cal had just one shot attempt in the opening 45 minutes of action.

Cal opened the scoring two minutes into the second half as Velize King beat the Pitt defense down the right wing and found Soliel Dimry with a centering pass just outside the goal box. Dimry shot scraped by a lunging Breech and found the corner of the net for a 1-0 advantage.

Chloe Minas nearly found the equalizer in the 51^st minute, collecting a corner near the penalty mark and hitting a driving shot that slid just wide of goal.

Schupansky hit the crossbar for the second time on the day in the 76^th minute with a left foot strike from 25-yards out. Cal cleared a loose ball in the goal box off an ensuing corner to again thwart the Panthers charge.

Pitt continue to press the Cal defense in the final 10 minutes of play with a shot by Melenhorst sailing just high on goal and then in the 88^th minute Wy made a lunging save on a Schupansky strike heading towards the right top side of the net to preserve the shutout.

Match Notes 

• Lucia Wells, Katie Zailski, and Olivia Lee along with goalie Breech played the full 90 minutes for the Panthers.
• Zailski (6) and Lee (5) have combined to play a full 90 11 times this season.
• Pitt has out-shot its opponents (North Carolina, Cal) by a 26-12 margin over the past two contests.
• The Panthers have been unable to find the back of the net as opposing keepers have collected 10 saves in that span.

UP NEXT

Pitt continues its West Coast road trip with a match with No. 6 Stanford Sunday, Sept. 29 (4 p.m. – ACC Network Extra). The Panthers are 5-7-1 in their past 13 matches against teams ranked in the US Soccer Coaches Poll.