Pitt men’s soccer team falls to Notre Dame in ACC tourney

The Pitt men’s soccer team faced Notre Dame in the semifinal round of the ACC tournament at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Wednesday, and after a strong start to the game, the Panthers crumbled late and fell to the Irish 2-0.

The first half of the matchup played out as a stalemate, with neither side able to score despite multiple chances. However, at the time, Pitt appeared to have the match well in hand, as it kept the ball on the Irish side of the field for significant chunks of time and came up with the majority of the early scoring chances. All told, the Panthers outshot the Irish 7-4 and had seven corner kicks to the visitors’ zero.

The second half looked destined for a similar fate for the first half-hour, but the Irish began to attack with more urgency and that would quickly pay off. Irish forward Jack Lynn put Notre Dame on the board in the 77th minute, as he deflected a shot off Panthers defender Arturo Ordoñez and into the back of the net. Then, 14 seconds later, Irish forward Daniel Russo scored on a breakaway to make it 2-0.

Things would get chippy in the final few minutes of play, as Irish defender Josh Ramsey stepped on Panthers defender Jasper Löeffelsend as he was in a slide, drawing a yellow card for the play. And as if Löeffelsend hadn’t endured enough, Irish midfielder Mohamed Omar inserted himself into the situation by grabbing Löeffelsend by the throat after the play and setting off a scuffle.

Still, despite Pitt showing plenty of fight until the end, the team fell to Notre Dame 2-0, ending its ACC tournament run as well as a 19-game winning streak at Ambrose Urbanic Field that dated back to Oct. 4, 2019. With the loss, Pitt falls to 11-5-1 and will now turn its focus to the NCAA tournament, which it should have a part in as the No. 5 team in the nation.