Last-second goal shocks Panthers, leads to draw with Virginia

Pitt men’s soccer stood just a few second from a crucial conference victory over Virginia on Friday night, thanks to a pair of first-half goals from All-American midfielder Valentin Noel.

But a miraculous goal with 2.4 seconds remaining saved Virginia’s senior night and held the Panthers to a 2-2 draw.

Pitt dominated possession in the first period, remaining on a consistent attack led by Noel.

Noel has had a quiet junior season, at least compared to his breakout sophomore year. The Frenchman scored 14 goals in 19 games last year, leading the conference and awarding him the 2020 ACC Offensive Player of the Year award.

But prior to Sunday, Noel had only found the net twice in 11 games this season. In fact, he had as many scores by this point in last year’s slate than shots on goal this year.

Needless to say, it seemed about time for Noel to make his presence felt on the pitch. After several close scoring opportunities in the first 30 minutes Sunday, the Panthers finally broke through, lighting a fire in their best player in the process.

With a through ball speeding towards the end line in the 34th minute, Pitt forward Bertin Jacquesson reached it just in time to send a cross through the penalty box. Graduate senior midfielder Matt Bailey couldn’t control the pass, but Noel cleaned it up for his first score in over a month.

He had more in the tank than one goal, though. With under a minute left in the first half, Noel acrobatically struck a bouncing ball with one-touch into the lower left corner. Just like that, Pitt went into halftime with a convincing 2-0 lead.

But a national television audience saw a tale of two halves in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers started the second half with a completely different intensity, providing desperate pressure on the Panther back line.

At the helm of this late charge: Virginia forward Leo Afonso. The Brazilian sophomore has shined as the lone bright spot of the struggling Virginia squad lately. He continued his October tear on Friday, scoring his fifth goal in four matches on a 53rd minute penalty kick.

And he came just a few feet from one or even two more. Afonso thought he had the equalizer in the first half, but timed his run just too early and went offsides, taking the goal away. He had another called back in overtime, yet again within an arm’s length of the nearest Pitt defender.

The match took a physical uptick in the final stretch. Referee Carmen Serbio handed out nine yellow cards on Friday, seven of them coming after the 80th minute. Panther defender Mohammad Abualnadi, who came one fantastic defensive play away from scoring his first goal of the season earlier, received a red card for his second offense and left Pitt with ten players for the end of regulation and all of overtime.

With the Cavaliers making one final offensive push, the Panthers booted the ball out of bounds for a corner kick. But with under ten seconds on the clock, it didn’t look like Virginia would get a last-second shot off.

That’s when Serbio ordered a sudden stoppage, giving Pitt defender Jasper Loeffelsend a yellow card for delaying. With the clock frozen at five seconds, the Cavaliers could set up their corner kick without rush. Paul Wiese then delivered a perfect ball to the middle of the box, which Will Citron headed to the back of the net that sent the home crowd into a frenzy.

Shocked by what had transpired, the Panthers couldn’t steal back the victory in either overtime periods. Noel nearly ended the game with a hat trick, but saw his game-winning attempt ricochet off the crossbar.

The Cavaliers attempted another final push at the end of the second overtime, and nearly found more last-second heroics from first-year Asparuh Slavov. The midfielder rocketed a shot to the right side with 20 seconds remaining, which took a diving save from Pitt goalkeeper Nico Campuzano on the final play of the match to thwart.

The draw, Pitt’s first of the season, reduces the Panther’s already slim chances of receiving a top-four seed in the ACC tournament — and a first-round bye. Head coach Jay Vidovich’s team will return home for a nonconference bout with Massachusetts on Monday, before closing the season against Virginia Tech.