Pitt men’s soccer team blanks Duquesne 1-0 in spring opener

The No. 2 Pitt men’s soccer team restarted its season on Saturday afternoon after a three-month winter break, and it recorded a 1-0 victory over Duquesne at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The game came after an exhibition with Georgetown was canceled and the original spring opener with Akron was postponed as a result of unplayable field conditions.

In the game, which was Pitt’s first since falling to Clemson 2-1 in the ACC championship on Nov. 22, the intracity rivals played to a stalemate for more than a half-hour. But a yellow card on Duquesne midfielder Ryan Goodhew after a handball in the box resulted in a penalty kick for Pitt defender Bryce Washington. And Washington converted to put the Panthers up 1-0 in the 36th minute.

The Panthers would maintain that lead at the half, as the Dukes failed to put a shot on goal in the first 45 minutes of the game. And in the second half, the only challenge from Pitt’s local rival came from Duquesne forward Jack Shearer, who put a shot on target in the 53rd minute but saw it fended off by Pitt goalkeeper Nico Campuzano. Campuzano would finish with his first clean sheet of the season.

“I’m really excited with the result,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said after the game. “It was important that we were able to find our way into the game as well as the result. We have a lot of work to do, but we kept a clean sheet, which is the first of the season. So that was good progress. We found a way to win with some good moments, but we have a lot to work on now as we look ahead to ACC play.”

With the City Game win in the books, Pitt improves to 8-1 on the season with six games against ACC opponents still ahead. The team’s next matchup will take place at Dorrance Field in Chapel Hill, where it will face a North Carolina team that went 3-2-2 in the fall and lost its spring opener to Liberty 1-0 on Thursday. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET.