Pitt men’s soccer shuts out Liberty 3-0 in home opener

The Pitt men’s soccer team hosted Liberty in its home opener at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Friday night and was able to coast to a 3-0 victory. It was the Panthers’ first win of the season, as they dropped their first two to Indiana and Northwestern, and they benefited from an early lead furnished by Panthers star Edward Kizza, who headed in a cross from Pitt midfielder Matt Bailey in the third minute.

”I saw the quick strike, and I really liked how we got into the goal on that one,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said during a postgame interview. “Then the one that got called back right after that, once again, it was just a great action to goal, and that’s what we wanted. I think after that we faltered slightly, we struggled a little bit in the half trying to find ourselves there. But the goals that we scored I think were really quality soccer actions.”

Pitt also got goals from Veljko Petkovic in the 31st minute and Josh Hesson in the 82nd minute. Both Petkovic and Hesson are freshmen, and the goals were the first of their collegiate careers. The goal by Kizza, a junior and returning first-team All-ACC selection, was his third of the season. In addition, Panthers goalkeeper Alexander Steinbach came up with a save and was credited with a clean sheet.

With the win, Pitt improves to 1-2-0 on the season, and the team will host Delaware at Ambrose Urbanic Field 7 p.m. ET on Monday in its next scheduled matchup. Pitt beat Delaware 6-1 in 2018, and the Blue Hens went 5-11-1 overall last season. However, Delaware is coming off a 1-0 upset of No. 23 West Virginia.