Pitt
Villanova
Men's Soccer Downs Villanova, 1-0
10/17/1999 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 17, 1999
PITTSBURGH - The Pittsburgh Panther men's soccer team claimed its first Big East Conference win of the season with a 1-0 win over Villanova today at Pitt Stadium. Senior defender Travis Kruse scored the game-winning goal, his second of the season, at the 74:36 mark.
Kruse (Chagrin Falls, Ohio/Chagrin Falls) took a perfect cross from the left side of the field, delivered by freshman Miles Dowiak (Houston, Texas/Mayde Creek), and placed it into the left side of the net and out of the reach of Wildcat keeper Sean Teesdale. The Panthers were able to hold Villanova for the remainder of the game to clinch the victory.
Both Pittsburgh and Villanova had ample scoring opportunities with the Wildcats edging the shot count, 17-15. Villanova was awarded a penalty kick after a handball foul was committed in the box by Pittsburgh's Chad Porter (Irwin, Pa./Penn Trafford). But the attempt by Wildcat Jim Curtin was wide left and goalkeeper Justin Gaul (North Huntingdon, Pa./William Tennent) was able to get a hand on it for the Pittsburgh save. Panther defender Keith Blass (Greenlawn, N.Y./Harborfields) also made an outstanding goal-line save after Gaul was drawn out of the box to take away a second Villanova scoring opportunity.
It was a hard-fought match for both teams with 11 yellow cards issued, but only one resulted in an ejection from the game. With less than 10 minutes remaining, Villanova's Steve Lehman received his second yellow and the Wildcats were forced to play one man down. Villanova committed 30 fouls on the day, while the Panthers had 25.
Gaul received his sixth shutout of the season as Pittsburgh's starter. He had seven saves on the afternoon.
The Panthers move to 5-6-3 overall, 1-5-2 in the Big East. Pittsburgh travels to Connecticut on Wednesday, Oct. 20, for a rescheduled game from Sept. 17.
