Pitt
California
Men's Soccer Concludes Season With 4-1 Victory
11/4/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Nov. 4, 1999
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh men's soccer team concluded the 1999 season with a 4-1 victory over California (Pa.) tonight at Pitt Stadium. The Panthers finish with an overall record of 7-9-3 and 1-8-2 in the Big East Conference.
Pittsburgh took a 2-0 lead in the first half, beginning with a goal by junior forward Spencer Barton (Hudson, Ohio/Hudson) just over ten minutes into the game. Vulcan goalkeeper Seth Shaw got a hand on it, but deflected it into the left side of the net. Barton was assisted by junior midfielder Ben Garry (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes), who responded with a goal of his own at the 22:40 mark. Freshman defender Miles Dowiak (Houston, Texas/Mayde Creek) was credited with the assist.
California got on the board in the second half to pull within one. Ben Beck scored the lone goal for the Vulcans off an assist by Joe Mete in the 59th minute.
That was all California could manage, however, as Panther senior Reagan Bender (Willow Street, Pa./Lancaster Mennonite) converted on a penalty kick at 70:16 to take a two-goal lead once again. Bender then fed a pass to junior forward Chad Porter (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford), who beat out a defender to take a shot past Shaw for Pittsburgh's final goal of the night.
The Panthers out-shot the Vulcans 21-14. Pittsburgh had two goals called back, one for offsides and another for a handball foul. Panther goalkeeper Justin Gaul (North Huntingdon, Pa./William Tennent) was credited with six saves, while Shaw had eight for California.
Garry completes the season with a team-leading 16 points for Pittsburgh on seven goals and two assists. Porter finished second with 10 points (four goal, two assists). Gaul recorded 95 saves on the year and a 1.10 goals-against average.
