Pitt women’s soccer falls to Virginia Tech in season finale

There was a faint chance that the Pitt women’s soccer team could make the ACC tournament as it entered its final game of the regular season on Thursday night, but the Panthers would need everything to fall into place. Unfortunately for Pitt, that didn’t happen, and the team fell to Virginia Tech 1-0 on a stormy Halloween night at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

The lone goal came off of a corner kick from Hokies forward Emmalee McCarter in the seventh minute, as she managed to curl the kick past Panthers goalkeeper Caitlyn Lazzarini to put her team up 1-0. After the game, Pitt head coach Randy Waldrum noted the intense wind likely played a part in the goal.

Pitt would trail for the remainder of the game, despite a concerted effort to even the score. Panthers forward Rachel Rasins came close to tying it up in the 77th minute, as she knocked a shot off the crossbar. And within the final 20 seconds of the game, Panthers defender Cheyenne Hudson appeared to score, only to have the goal waved off due to an offside call.

After the game, Coach Waldrum was focused more on the future of the team than the loss and shared his views on the program after a promising season.

”I think that we were picked to finish toward the bottom,” Waldrum said in a postgame interview. “Some picked us last, and some picked us next to last. I think we surprised a lot of people this year. And I think what it shows us is that there’s a bright future here.”

With the loss, Pitt is officially out of contention for the ACC tournament, as its 2-6-2 conference record ranks 10th among ACC teams. However, the Panthers also finish the 2019 season with a 5-10-3 overall record, which is their best campaign since 2015.