September 12, 2008
BULLDOGS FALL TO PANTHERS, 2-1, IN OVERTIME
PITTSBURGH, Pa.- Joe Prince-Wright (Southampton, England) put home a goal just nine minutes into overtime to lift the University of Pittsburgh (3-1-1) to a thrilling 2-1 win over Bryant on Friday night. The goal came after senior forward E.J. McCormick (Pittsburgh, Pa.) crossed a ball through the goal mouth that found Prince-Wright who put the ball into the side netting, beating Bulldog keeper Neil Black (Roslyn Heights, N.Y.) and handing the Bulldogs (1-3-0) their third loss of the season. It was the Panthers third win of the season, pushing their undefeated streak to four straight games.
With the game scoreless, Pitt struck first when junior midfielder Matt Baker (Bethlehem, Pa.) crossed a great ball to Wils Alpern (Balitmore, Md.) who finished near post to put the Panthers up, 1-0. The score would remain that way at the break, with Pittsburgh outshooting Bryant 9-3 in the first half. The story remained the same in the second half, as the Panthers continued to outshoot the Bulldogs, with the final tally being 23-11, but managing just five shots on goal compared to the Bulldogs four.
Trailing 1-0 late in the contest, the Bulldogs would pull even when freshman Nicholas Parisi (Holbrook, N.Y.) put a high cross into the box finding the head of Ben Mello (Rehoboth, Mass.) that went just over keeper Eric Barnes' (Aiken, S.C.) head for his second goal of the season, and giving Bryant new life. The score came in the 88th minute and gave the Bulldogs momentum heading into overtime, but the Panthers were able to fight off an early Bryant attack and hand the Bulldogs a tough loss. The goal was the first against Pitt in three games, ending their consecutive shutout streak. Tom Nelan (East Haddam, Conn.) was the Man of the Match for Bryant, playing tremendous defense in a gritty team effort.
The Bulldogs will play their final game of the Pitt Invitational Tournament on Sunday when they take on Robert Morris (12 p.m.).
Men's Soccer
@ Pittsburgh, PA
Pittsburgh 2, Bryant 1
Goals:
BRY - Mello (88th)
PITT - Alpern (38th), Luffy (100th)
Shots - Bryant 11, Pittsburgh 23 Saves - Bryant 3,
Pittsburgh 4
Halftime -Pittsburgh 1-0
