Pitt men’s soccer opens season with two losses in Indiana

The Pitt men’s soccer team opened the season with a trip to Bloomington, Indiana, to face Indiana and Northwestern in the Adidas/IU Credit Union Classic over the weekend, and the results, while close, were ultimately lacking. The Panthers lost to the Hoosiers 3-2 in double-overtime on Friday night and went on to get shut out by the Wildcats 1-0 on Sunday.

”I like the potential of our team,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said during a postgame interview. “We made some tremendous actions throughout the weekend, which only confirms the high standards I have set for this team. ... This weekend was the test I was looking for. In time, I believe it will show who we are and why we are at Pitt. We now have a clearer picture of the work we must do to meet the expectations we have for this team.”

Despite the losses, Vidovich got a standout performance from star forward Edward Kizza, as the native of Kampala, Uganda, provided the Panthers with their only two goals of the weekend. Both came against Indiana, and Kizza’s first goal opened the scoring in the 36th minute. Less than a minute later, Pitt midfielder Veljko Petkovic set Kizza up for his second goal on a corner kick, and he capitalized on the opportunity to put Pitt up 2-0.

However, Indiana, led by Hoosiers forward Ian Black, fought back in the second half and evened the score. Four minutes in, Black set up Hoosiers forward Joshua Penn for the team’s first goal of the game. Black then tied the game in the 57th minute with a goal of his own. The two teams remained deadlocked for the rest of regulation, and the game was decided by a Herbert Endeley goal in the 103rd minute, giving Indiana a 3-2 win.

Pitt’s match with Northwestern was less eventful, as Wildcats midfielder Bardia Kimiavi put Northwestern up 1-0 just over two minutes into the game and the Panthers were unable to muster a response. As a result, the team fell to 0-2-0 on the season.

Now, with two games under their belts, the Panthers will return to Ambrose Urbanic Field for their home opener. Pitt is set to play Liberty on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.