The University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg men's soccer team remained unbeaten Wednesday evening, battling Penn College to a 1-1 draw at UPMC Field. The result moved the Bobcats to 4-0-3 on the season, while Penn College moved to 3-3-3.
Pitt-Greensburg struck first in the 34th minute when Matt Armenio found the back of the net off an assist from Cam Loveland, giving the Bobcats a 1-0 advantage they would carry into halftime.
Armenio made the most of his lone shot on goal, continuing to provide the Bobcats with an attacking threat when opportunities arise.
"He's doing his job at a consistent level, which is scoring goals with the limited amount of chances he has each game," Head Coach Marc Bucci said. "He's using his experience to get into good positions and thankfully taking advantage of it."
The Bobcats' defense was tested throughout the evening. Penn College registered eight shots in the opening half, but goalkeeper Nick Braun and the UPG defense kept the Wildcats off the scoreboard to preserve the one-goal advantage at the break.
Pitt-Greensburg nearly doubled its advantage in the second half. Cooper Robson, who accounted for two of the Bobcats' three shots, struck the post in the 75th minute, narrowly missing an opportunity to give UPG some breathing room.
Penn College continued to apply pressure and eventually found the equalizer in the 81st minute. Scott Goldfeder scored at the 80:54 mark off an assist from Warrick Beachy to even the match at 1-1.
"Unfortunately, we turned the game into our weakness and Penn's strength," Bucci said. "They deserved the goal with the amount of pressure we were under, but I was happy with the way we fought to get a point on the evening."
The Wildcats continued to push for a go-ahead goal in the closing minutes, but Braun and the Bobcats held firm. Braun made saves on attempts from Freddy Sahaydak and Christian Bressler in the final three minutes to help Pitt-Greensburg secure the draw.
Penn College finished with a 14-3 advantage in shots, including a 5-1 edge in shots on goal, and held a 4-1 advantage in corner kicks. Braun played all 90 minutes in goal for Pitt-Greensburg and finished with four saves.
Despite the draw, Pitt-Greensburg remains unbeaten through its first seven matches at 4-0-3. With two contests remaining before conference play, Bucci sees room for improvement as the Bobcats look to build on their strong start.
"It definitely hasn't been perfect, although the results suggest otherwise," Bucci said. "We need to be able to put together a full 90 minutes, and this was a step back for us. We'll need to find ways to implement our game plan in the second halves of games and hoping we can correct it before Pitt-Bradford."
The Bobcats return to action Friday when they travel to Immaculata for their next non-conference matchup.
