Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's soccer team was back in action at home on Wednesday evening. The Panthers went into halftime tied but were unable to hold off the SUNY Poly Wildcats, who scored 4 in the second half to win the match.
Both teams split possession in the first half, but neither was able to come away with the opening goal. Making his 2nd start of the year, goalkeeper Evan Schmidt made 4 first-half saves to keep the Wildcats off the board. The Panthers were able to carve out a few opportunities as they had 11 shots in the half but were unable to put them on target. Spencer Sklar and Scott Compson had two shots each in the half, while Will Smith and Rodney Walker also had efforts toward goal. Both teams also had multiple set piece opportunities, as the Panthers were able to defend 5 SUNY Poly corners, and were unable to take advantage of their 4.
As the game moved into the second half, Lysandre Chaabi was able to put the first attempt on goal in the 48th minute, but it was the Wildcats who would take advantage of a corner to open the scoring in the 53rd. After a short stoppage for an injury and a subsequent substitution, Suny Poly was able to win a header on a corner, deflecting it into the corner of the goal. After the score, The Wildcats put the Panthers under more pressure and doubled their advantage in the 61st.
The Panthers did attempt to respond and carved out an opportunity to score just after the second goal. The Panthers strung together multiple passes in transition and Devin Stowe played Youness Khemakhem behind the defense. Khemakem was able to get to the pass and touch it around the goalkeeper but had to slide to put a shot towards the net. His effort was rolling towards the goal but was cleared off the line by a SUNY Poly defender. The Wildcats took advantage of the missed opportunity, adding their third goal after a cross was not cleared by the Panther defense. Finally, the fourth goal was scored in the 68th minute on another headed corner. The Panthers had one final push towards goal in the 86th minute, but Gladwin Timothy's shot found the outside netting for a goal kick.
Pitt-Bradford totaled 9 shots in the game, but Youness Khemakhem was the only Panther to put a shot on goal. Spencer Sklar and Scott Compson finished with two shots, while Gladwin Timothy, Rodney Walker, Lysandre Chaabi and Will Smith all had 1. Evan Schmidt made 9 saves in the loss.
The loss moves the Panthers to 1-7on the season. They will begin their AMCC schedule on Saturday, when they travel to Pittsburgh to take on LaRoche. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.
