Friars Explode Against Pittsburgh

Providence Takes Crucial 3-0 Victory

November 2, 2008

PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The Providence College men's soccer team scored three second-half and defeated Pittsburgh, 3-0, Saturday afternoon in a pivotal BIG EAST match at Glay Field.

With the win, the Friars (8-6-3, 5-5-1 BIG EAST) finish the regular season in fourth-place of the BIG EAST Blue Division and will host a league first round match on either Wednesday, November 5 or Thursday, November 6 at PC's Glay Field. The Panthers (7-7-3, 4-6-1 BIG EAST) finish in sixth-place and will travel for their first round match on Wednesday against Louisville, Villanova or DePaul.

Providence controlled much of the first half but neither team was able to score in the first 45 minutes. The Friars broke through in the 76th minute when sophomore Alex Redding (Newton, Mass.) tallied his first goal of the season. Junior Timothy Ritter (Haverhill, Mass.) played a long ball down the left flank to Redding, who beat his defender before firing a right-footed shot that bounced off a Pitt defender and into the back of the net at 76:07.

Just 16 seconds later, it was sophomore Andrew Sousa's (Fall River, Mass.) turn to score his first goal of the season. Ritter drove in a cross from the left flank to Sousa, who drilled a powerful header into the back of the net to give the Friars a 2-0 lead.

In the 89th minute, Sousa gained possession of the ball at midfield and led Ritter on a breakaway. Ritter took a couple of touches on the ball before placing a delicate chip over the head of Pitt goalkeeper Eric Barnes.

PC senior goalkeeper Timothy Murray (Haverhill, Mass.) made three saves as recorded his 10th shutout of the season.

ADD TO YOUR SOCIAL BOOKMARKS: Blink Del.icio.us Digg
Furl Google Simpy Spurl Technorati Y! MyWeb