Pitt women’s soccer team shut out 5-0 by No. 1 Florida State

The Pitt women’s soccer team faced Florida State, the top-ranked team in the nation, at the Seminole Soccer Complex in Tallahassee on Thursday night, and unfortunately for the Panthers, the outcome was a 5-0 shutout in which the Seminoles quickly asserted their dominance and denied their guests the chance to get a word in edgewise in the contest.

Florida State opened up the scoring just three minutes and 37 seconds into the matchup, when Seminoles midfielder Maria Alagoa caught the Pitt defense off guard and put a left-footed shot just beyond the reach of Panthers goalkeeper Katherine Robinson to make it 1-0.

Sixteen minutes later, Florida State would add to its lead when Seminoles midfielder Clara Robbins took possession of a pass mishandled by Panthers midfielder Chloe Minas and buried a long shot in the back of the net to put her team up 2-0. And in the 39th minute, Seminoles defender Gianna Mitchell would chip a shot over Robinson’s head for a third score.

All told, Florida State outshot Pitt 11-1 in the first half, drew eight corner kicks to Pitt’s zero, and was whistled for just one foul while Pitt was called for four. Those trends would continue in the second half, with the Seminoles again outshooting the Panthers 11-1, and the second time around, they would convert on two scoring chances instead of three.

Seminoles forward Kristina Lynch got in on the action one minute and 48 seconds into the final frame, putting the Panthers in a 4-0 hole. And after Pitt tried and failed to respond, Mitchell headed in a cross in the 88th minute to put the finishing touches on a 5-0 rout.

The loss dropped Pitt to 7-3 on the season and continued a worrisome trend, as the team has now been shut out twice in a row to start off conference play after shutting out six opponents during its eight-game non-conference schedule. The Panthers will look to turn things around on Sunday afternoon, when they face Miami at Cobb Stadium in Coral Gables, Florida. That game is set to kick off at 3 p.m. ET and will air on the ACC Network.