Bradford, Pa. -- The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford men's soccer team saw its hot run of form come to a quick end on Wednesday, falling 4-2 at 1st place Medaille.
The Panthers were under pressure from the hosts immediately as Shile Sizani was made into two quick saves within the opening five minutes. The Panthers were able to break the pressure and create some chances of their own as Spencer Sklar was able to put two shots on goal in the 9th minute forcing Medaille saves. The hosts opened the scoring in the 13th minute on a high arching free-kick that found its way into the corner of the goal from 35-yards out. The go-ahead goal did not slow the Mavericks down, as they continued pressuring the Panthers, forcing Sizani into 5 more saves. They were able to quickly add two more goals by the 42nd minute. They broke away for the second in the 41st after turning over the Panthers on a throw-in. They added the third goal under a minute later, as the Panthers gave away a corner and then were unable to clear the resulting set-piece.
In the 43rd minute, the Panthers were able to get a goal back. Pitt-Bradford was awarded a penalty kick after Sklar was taken down by the Medaille goalkeeper in the box. Chase Rider stepped up and put the resulting spot-kick wide, but was given a second chance as the hosts were whistled for being inside the box during the kick. Rider took advantage of the repeat attempt, calmly slotting a second shot into the corner. Rider's goal sent the game into the half with the Panthers trailing 3-1.
Pitt-Bradford saw its deficit grow within 6 minutes of the second half, as Medaille's leading scorer Ander Castillo curled a long shot into the far corner to put the hosts up 4-1. The score remained the same for the next half hour, until the Panthers were able to claw a goal back in the 81st. Devin Stowe was able to intercept a pass in the Panther half and quickly started a counterattack. Stowe found Sklar streaking through the Medaille line and played a pass through a gap in the defense. Sklar took the pass and dribbled past a Medaille defender. He took a left-footed shot from the edge of the box and drilled it into the bottom right-hand corner to cut the lead to two goals. Unfortunately, that was as close as the Panthers would come, as Medaille maintained the majority of possession in the final 10 minutes to finish the contest.
Chase Rider's goal from the penalty spot was his NCAA leading 20th goal of the season. Sklar's second-half strike was his 5th of the season. He also paced the Panthers, taking 7 shots, putting 6 of them on target. Sihle Sizani finished the match with 13 saves, the second-highest total he has had this season.
The loss moves the Panthers to 6-7-1 on the season, with a 4-3 record in AMCC play. They are currently in 4th place with one conference game left to play. A win in Saturday's regular-season finale at Pitt-Greensburg will see the Panthers secure the 4th seed in the AMCC tournament and earn their first postseason home game since 2011. The game is scheduled to begin at 3:15.
