Women's city game ends in loss for Dukes

The daunting task of stepping into enemy territory with fans cheering against them proved to be too much for the Duquesne women’s soccer team on Sunday as they fell to the University of Pittsburgh Panthers 3-1.

The Dukes (0-3) battled the Panthers (4-1) until the final whistle, but couldn't pull off the upset.

The Panthers earned the first goal with about 19 minutes left in the first half. The Panthers were awarded a corner kick, which was headed into the back of the net by junior defender Morgan Sharick.

Sophomore goalie Devon Tabata said the Panthers’ goal propelled the Dukes to play harder.

“As soon as a goal goes in, whether it is in our net or in our opponent’s net, that is the time we have got to push,” Tabata said.

The Dukes pushed forward one minute later when junior midfielder Bridget Lynch found herself in a great spot and made a quick pass inside the box to setup Morgan Herbert, who headed the ball into an open net.

Lynch said the goal was a team effort.

“I can’t really take credit for that, one of our center-mids Caroline [Lacy] worked her butt off to get down there and I was just at the right place at the right time. Morgan did just as much work,” Lynch said.

The second goal for the Panthers came right after halftime on a quick shot by Roosa Arvas.from 20 yards back.

Tabata took the blame for Pitt’s second goal.

“Unfortunately she got a free shot in the box. It was a good shot, and I will give her credit for it,” Tabata said. “I should have followed up on it,”

Lynch remained up-beat about the disappointing game.

“We need to look at the steps we took forward because, regardless of the score, I think we played a hard game,” Lynch said.

Lynch has been battling a recurring shin injury and entered the game from the bench.She was in the game for less than a minute before taking a ball to her jaw. Lynch said she was hurting, but made the decision to re-enter the game only moments later.

Tabata said that when Lynch returned, it gave the team a new energy.

“Any time we see one of our teammates go down it really, really affects us, so it really amped us up [when she returned],” said Tabata.

First-year head coach Al Alvine praised Lynch for her effort and skill set.

“She [Lynch] brings us some experience, a great left foot, and she can serve a phenomenal ball, maybe as good as anybody on the team,” Alvine said. “She has a lot of really good qualities.”

Alvine has certainly won over his team. When asked about the team’s new leader Lynch had only nice things to say.

“[We] love him. No complaints,” Lynch said. “I couldn’t say anything bad if I wanted to … [Alvine] holds us to very high standards...We listen to him. When there is that mutual respect it will show on the field, maybe not in our loss today, but it will show overall."

Lynch said she thinks the Red and Blue will persevere throughout the season.

“I think our resilience as a team is the thing that is going to get us through this season,” she said. “Look at last year, we know what it is like to be down, but we also know what it is like to come back … that works to our advantage because we know what it takes to get back in the game.”

The Dukes next game is this Friday at 7 p.m. at Rooney Field. The Red and Blue will be taking on the Niagara Purple Eagles.