The Pitt-Greensburg men's soccer team continued its unbeaten start to the 2026 season Saturday, earning a 2-0 road victory over Thiel at Alumni Stadium at Stoeber Field. The win moved the Bobcats to 2-0 on the young season.
Pitt-Greensburg broke through late in the opening half after steadily increasing the pressure on the Tomcats' defense. Matt Armenio forced Thiel goalkeeper Dylan Budziak into a save in the 13th minute before Cam Loveland put another effort on frame in the 30th. Less than a minute later, Armenio rattled the crossbar as the Bobcats continued to threaten.
That pressure paid off at the 40:06 mark, when Pitt-Greensburg was credited with a team goal to take a 1-0 advantage into halftime.
The Bobcats entered the match with a clear plan for slowing down the Thiel attack, and head coach Marc Bucci was pleased with how his group carried it out.
"We had a good idea of how Thiel wanted to play and implemented a plan to negate their attack," Bucci said. "I felt the group executed the plan really well at times."
That defensive effort was backed by goalkeeper Brett Barnes, who played all 90 minutes and made three saves to earn the shutout. One of his biggest stops came in the 80th minute, when he denied Derek Thomas to keep Pitt-Greensburg's 1-0 advantage intact.
"Shoutout to Brett, who had a big save for us to keep the game 1-0 at the time," Bucci said.
Pitt-Greensburg finally found some breathing room in the 84th minute. After creating problems for the Thiel back line throughout the match, Cooper Robson found the back of the net at 83:53 off an assist from Cam Loveland, giving the Bobcats a 2-0 advantage.
"Cooper's someone who needs to be dangerous for us to have success this fall, and he was a constant threat in behind," Bucci said. "I'm happy he was rewarded with his first goal for us."
Robson finished with three shots, including two on goal, while Armenio led the Bobcats with four attempts. Loveland added two shots and picked up the assist on Robson's goal.
Pitt-Greensburg controlled much of the statistical battle, finishing with a 12-6 advantage in shots and a 6-2 edge in corner kicks. The Bobcats limited Thiel to only three shots on goal.Â
Barnes stopped all three shots he faced to secure Pitt-Greensburg's first clean sheet of the season.
"Games are difficult to win at this level, and Thiel is well coached," Bucci said. "It's a great feeling driving home getting the three points and a shutout."
With the victory, the Bobcats improve to 2-0-0, while Thiel moves to 1-1-0. The Bobcats will return to action on Wednesday as they travel to Hiram for a 7PM kickoff.Â
