Men's Soccer | 10/17/2022 2:58:00 PM
Moon, PA – After two shutout wins to start off the season, RMU looks to continue their early rally on the same day of their second win. This time, the Pitt Panthers came into Moon to battle it out on the Practice Field. The temperature started in the low 80s, and it slowly dropped throughout the day. Quite the crowd of students came out for this one as well to support the team.
Early possession was a constant battle. Both teams had very good opportunities to break the defense, but the first shot on goal only came 8 minutes into the match, by Pitt. After this first shot though, they continued to keep the offensive at a high. Through the first fifteen minutes, RMU had to kept on the defensive and was not allowed to make any offensive progress, not even having any shots on net. This quickly changed with a few fouls and free kicks, drawing the teams even in shots on net with two. The RMU offense decided to keep the pressure on, keeping the ball in the Panthers end for almost 5 minutes straight. After this, though, the game seemed to approach a stall. A couple of fouls and misdemeanors handed Pitt two more shots on goal, neither of them connecting. At the 30-minute mark, despite the Pitt had kept the pressure on RMU, but RMU's defense was still holding strong. At this point in time, the RMU crowd had become angry. Referees seemed to be in favor of Pitt, calling flops for fouls, and not calling hand balls. Time seemed to have flowed fast, as the first half was in its final minutes. Despite this, neither team felt the need to pressure more, as the first half ended with no scoring, and RMU getting outshot six to four, despite being shut down of offense.
The second half started exactly how the first half ended, with Pitt controlling most, if not all of, the ball time. However, for a tad bit, the RMU offense started finding a sort of rhythm. In the first 10 minutes of the half, RMU was able to stay in possession for a couple of minutes; easily in contrast to the minimal offense they had in the first half. At the fifteen-minute mark, Pittsburgh had two extra shots on goal, but thwarted by goaltender Conner Dalton (#31). But this Pittsburgh momentum was stopped quick off of a free kick off a foul, which turned into a goal by Nolan _ (#15). Despite the constant barrage of attacks by the Panthers, the Colonials found themselves up 1-0. After this, the Colonials made it their priority to hang onto the lead. With 20 minutes remaining, the Colonial defense and offense was unstoppable, along with the crowd's constant cheering.
At the 80-minute mark, though, goaltender Dalton, was injured on a corner kick. Not long after, a Panther goal took place, tying the game up at 1 with less than ten minutes left. Pitt decided that they wanted to win the game and followed with heavy offense following their late goal. RMU defense, however, had different plans. They continued to stay rock-solid up to the 90th minute. At the 90th minute, the head referee added six extra minutes onto the time. Was there a team to break this tie and come out with the late game win? RMU's defense had been holding strong, but their offense was quiet. On the contrary, Pitt wanted to keep their offense barraging in these final minutes. However, the iron clad RMU defense stood strong, facing 13 shots on net by the Panthers, while only putting up seven themselves. RMU may have been outshot by six, but the goals were knotted up at a score of 1-1 to end the day. At 2-0-1, RMU can't be mad at this draw. As of right now, there are no home games on the schedule for RMU Club Soccer in the future.
