Pittsburgh Too Much for ISU Soccer

Sunday, August 31

Champaign, Ill.

11:00 AM

Iowa State

0-2

Pittsburgh

1-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Pitt	2	2	4
Iowa State	0	1	1

08.31.2008 | Soccer

Box Score

By: cyclones.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.?The Iowa State soccer team could not capitalize despite having a statistical advantage over Pittsburgh Sunday as the Cyclones fell 4-1 in the consolation match of the Illini Challenge Cup.

Despite the score line, ISU (0-2) outshot Pittsburgh (1-2), 18-11, and held a 3-0 corner advantage.

After trailing 4-0, junior forward Elise Reid pulled a goal back from close range with just over 10 minutes remaining to notch her first tally of the season.

The Cyclones did not get off to their desired start in the match as Pittsburgh's Ashley Habbel found the back of the net 2:35 into the contest. Molly Griganavicius added to the Cyclones' woes with 3:12 remaining in the first half when she scored the Panthers' second goal to take a 2-0 lead into the break. The Cyclones, however, held advantages in shots (10-6) and corners (3-0) at halftime.

“We were very flat the first 45 minutes,” coach Wendy Dillinger said. “You have to give Pittsburgh a lot of credit. They caught us flat footed and took advantage of their opportunities. We just can't come and play the way we did for the first 45 minutes.”

Habbel struck again for the Panthers in the 59th minute to extend Pittsburgh's advantage to 3-0. Liz Carroll added a fourth goal for Pittsburgh at the 69:35 mark for a 4-0 Panther lead before Reid got the Cyclones on the scoreboard.

“In the second half, we had a lot of opportunities but couldn't finish,” Dillinger said.

In addition to the setback, the Cyclones have deal with a number of injuries that have forced them to mix and match a lot of players.

“We were down to only four subs,” Dillinger said. “It really limits what we can do and increases the burden of the healthy players.”

The Cyclones will take the pitch again Friday at 4 p.m. when they travel to Chicago to face DePaul at Wish Field.