PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The Cornell men's soccer team fell to the Pittsburgh University Panthers 1-0 on Sunday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the second round of the NCAA College Cup. The Big Red finished the season 13-4-2.

The Big Red's relentless effort earned a free-kick from a dangerous spot just outside of the box three-minutes into the contest. Cornell managed a couple of shots toward the net during the sequence, but neither got past the Pittsburgh net-minder Cabral Carter.

At the 8:57-mark Alex Harris got a step on the Pittsburgh back-line and found the back of the net, but it was reviewed and waived off for offside.

The first corner-kick of the game went to Pitt at the 24-minute mark, and was stopped by Cornell. The second corner-kick also went to Pitt, coming at the 35-minute mark, which saw Ryan Friedberg get a critical hand on a dangerous ball to keep the game scoreless. The high-stress sequence came to a halt when the next corner led to a shot for the Panthers which went wide of the goal.

The Panthers picked up a red card at the 39:30-mark which was reviewed by the officials, and stood giving the Big Red a critical man-advantage for the remainder of the game.

As the first half came to a close, the Big Red were called for a hand-ball in the box which gave Pittsburgh a penalty-kick. The Panthers made it count with seconds remaining in the opening half to go ahead 1-0 over Cornell.

Man-advantage in hand, Cornell was able to produce quality opportunities in the second-half in spite of a strong Panther back-line.

Cornell's first corner opportunity came early in the second-half, with the Big Red managing a dangerous shot-on-goal, but could not sneak it past Carter. At the 59-minute mark, Alioune Ka maneuvered around Panther-defenders and dealt an opportunity to Harris in front of the net, but he would miss wide on a header.

Cornell saw a number of high-grade chances in the final 15 minutes, but none would find the back of the net. In the 82nd minute, Harris just missed high and wide on a prime opportunity in the box.

At the 88:45-mark, the Big Red was awarded a free-kick at the top of the box. Connor Miller's shot sailed high and wide, which would be the Big Red's final opportunity at an equalizer. The no. 2-seeded Pittsburgh Panthers advnaced to the third round of the College Cup as they escaped with a 1-0 second round victory over Cornell.

"I thought the guys gave all they had today against a very good team. When you go up a man in a game the onus is on you to create good chances. Although we did get looks on their goal, we couldn't seem to carve out the kind of golden opportunities we typically create in games", John Smith, the Dr. Daniel P. Wood Head Coach of Men's Soccer mentioned.

The future is bright for the Big Red, and coach John Smith is pleased that his young group was able to gain invaluable experience this season. "Overall this has been a fantastic season. We are a young group—with 6 of our starters underclassmen—and the experiences they have had this year will benefit the program massively moving forward", he added.

"For the guys who put on the uniform one final time tonight, all I have to say is thank you. Through all their work on and off the field we have won 46 games during their time here, which is mightily impressive. We look forward to building upon this year's successes in 2025", Smith concluded with.