Pitt
6-7-0, 2-3-0ACC
Notre Dame
8-4-1, 3-2-0ACC
No. 14 Notre Dame Defeats Women's Soccer 2-0
10/9/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
PITTSBURGH-- No. 14 Notre Dame scored goals at the conclusion of both halves as it defeated the Pitt women's soccer team 2-0 Thursday evening at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The loss drops Pitt to 6-7-0 overall and 2-3-0 in the ACC, while Notre Dame improved to 8-4-1 overall and 3-2-0 in ACC play.
Following almost 42 minutes of play, Notre Dame took a 1-0 lead just three minutes before halftime when Lauren Bohaboy scored on a shot from the middle of the field. Bohaboy controlled a crossing pass from Morgan Andrews which deflected off Anna Gilbertson and fired a shot into the goal's lower left corner. The Fighting Irish also had two shots bounce off the crossbar in the first half.
"We didn't do a great job defensively in the first half tracking players," Pitt head coach Greg Miller said. "Notre Dame was aggressive in attacking and pushed lots of numbers forward and it caused us some disorganization. They were able to get a lot of chances, they hit the crossbar twice. We gave the ball away a lot tonight, especially in our final third and it helped jump-start their attack. They were able to catch us in transition. In the second half, we did a much better job of organizing defensively. Most of their opportunities were from long distance. We were able to generate some offense and we kept the ball longer for longer periods of time. I just wish we could have possessed the ball a little more in the first half."
Pitt had its chances in the match as its finished with seven shots, including four on goal. Freshman Taylor Pryce, junior Roosa Arvas and senior Riliegh McHugh each finished with two shots apiece. With Pitt trailing 1-0, Pryce had a chance in the 68th minute but her shot was smothered by Notre Dame goalkeeper Kaela Little.
Pitt trailed just 1-0 up until the 81st minute when Notre Dame scored its second goal on a long distance shot. Andrews trapped a loose ball in the middle of the field and fired a shot from 25 yards out into the lower right corner of the goal.
Pitt was outshot 32-7 and Miller credited his backline for dealing with the high volume of shots. Pitt sophomore goalkeeper Taylor Francis, the ACC's saves and saves per game leader, finished the night with eight stops.
"Taylor came up with big saves when she needed to," Miller said. "Our back four did a good job with the volume they had to deal with. Jackie (Poucel) stands out for us every single game," Miller said. "She's able to run things down and covers for everybody. I thought Arielle played a decent second half and so did Emily Pietrangelo."
Tonight's match was the first of three against highly ranked ACC opponents. Pitt is back in action on Sunday, Oct. 12 when it travels to No. 7 North Carolina for a 1 p.m. ET match in Chapel Hill. Pitt then returns home for a Saturday, Oct. 18 match against No. 2 Florida State at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Kickoff for that match is at noon.
--PITT--
Team Stats
Lauren Bohaboy
Assisted By: Anna Gilbertson , Morgan Andrews
Cross by Andrews, controlled by Bohaboy
41:55
Morgan Andrews
Shot from 25 yards out into lower right
81:51
