Pittsburgh, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's soccer team took on the LaRoche Redhawks in a high-scoring AMCC matchup on Saturday. The Panthers led the game by two goals in the second half but were not able to hold off the hosts, as the match ended in a 5-5 draw.
The Panthers started the game on the attack, as Devin Stowe was able to take a shot just 35 seconds into the match. They were not able to maintain their momentum for long, as the hosts took the lead in the 11th minute. Pitt-Bradford was able to respond immediately, however, as they tied the match just two minutes later. In the 13th minute, Stowe sent Spencer Sklar on a fast break, as his through ball put the speedy winger one-on-one with the keeper. Sklar was able to take a touch and finish beyond the keeper to tie the match.
After another two minutes, the Panthers took the lead. with 15:50 off the clock, the Redhawks picked up a yellow card, and Pitt-Bradford took advantage of the resulting free kick. Will Smith continued to show his dead-ball prowess this season, as he took a shot off the restart and scored his 5th goal from a free kick this season. The lead did not last long, as the hosts retied the game with a goal 79 seconds later.
Pitt-Bradford continued attacking after the tie, as they forced two more saves out of the LaRoche goalkeeper before Sklar was able to tally his second goal of the game to put them back in front in the 35th. Sklar continued pushing for his hat-trick, as he put two more efforts on target in the next five minutes. With just under 6 minutes to go in the half, Bailee Verdill was able to double the Panther lead, scoring his third of the season.
The Panthers struggled out of the gate in the second half, as they allowed LaRoche to score their third of the game off of a corner kick just 48 seconds after the restart. They were able to hold off two Redhawk scoring chances before Devin Stowe reacted first to a loose ball in the 18-yard box and quickly fired a shot past the goalkeeper to restore the two-goal advantage.
They maintained the lead for 23 minutes, but gave the hosts a lifeline in the 74th, as they put the ball past Jared Scarlett for an own goal. The mistake was compounded just 5 minutes later when LaRoche was able to tie the match at 5 in the 79th minute. Each team managed one more shot on goal over the final ten minutes of play, but could not find the game-winner, as the match ended in a draw.
Spencer Sklar scored two goals for the Panthers, bringing his total to 3 on the season. He took 5 shots in the game, putting them all on target. Devin Stowe scored one goal and assisted another, bringing his tally to 5. Will Smith scored his 5th free-kick goal of the season, while freshman Bailee Verdill scored his third of the campaign. Jared Scarlett made 3 saves in the Panther net.
The Panthers are now 1-8-2 on the season, with a 1-2-1 record in AMCC play. They will be back in action on Tuesday, October 10th, when they travel to Williamsport to take on Penn College. Kickoff is slated for 7:00 p.m. at UPMC Field.
