Elmira, N.Y. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's soccer team worked to erase a 2-goal first-half deficit before allowing two late goals in a 4-1 loss at Elmira on Wednesday afternoon.
Both teams had chances to score early, as Trevor Clark made two early saves in the Panthers' goal, and Spencer Sklar had the best opportunity to put the Panthers ahead. Pressing from the midfield, he was able to steal the ball away from the Soaring Eagles in the final third and dribble towards goal. He got a left-footed shot off but saw his effort saved by the keeper. Pitt-Bradford was unable to hold onto the momentum, as Elmira was able to open the scoring in the 14th minute. They were able to dribble past the Panther defense down the right flank and pull a pass back for an open shot into the corner. The Panthers were able to hold off the Elmira attack for the next half hour, but with just under a minute to go allowed an Elmira attacker to get a shot off in the box which went off the crossbar and down into the goal.
After the break, the Panthers struck early to cut the deficit in half. Sklar once again pressured the defense, and stole the ball away, allowing him to streak towards goal. Sklar made the most of his chance this time as he was able to shoot past the Elmira keeper to score. Clark and the Panther defense worked to keep the deficit at one for the next 30 minutes. Sklar was able to put another shot on target in the 77th minute but was unable to beat the keeper a second time. With the Panthers attacking and looking to tie the game, Elmira was able to restore their two-goal advantage in the 83rd and then scored the fourth goal in the 86th.
Spencer Sklar finished the game with one goal on three shots, all of them on target. The goal was his 3rd of the season. Devin Stowe took 3 shots, with one finding the target, while Scott Compson and Austin Hogan also put shots on goal. Clark finished with 10 saves in the game.
The loss drops the Panthers to 1-6 on the season. Following a weekend off, the Panthers will return to action on Wednesday, September 28th, when they host SUNY Poly. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
