Point Park University men’s soccer made program history Sunday afternoon, hosting its first-ever Mountain East Conference Tournament game at Highmark Stadium. The third-seeded Pioneers showed fight but were shut out 3-0 by sixth-seeded West Liberty in the quarterfinal round.
Head coach Cameron Williams said before the match that the team’s journey this season had been defined by perseverance.
“The one thing about this group is that they’re very resilient,” Williams said on the MEC Digital Network. “We’ve been up and down, but they’ve always found the energy and the fight.”
After 21 minutes of scoreless play, West Liberty broke through when Ethan Nethery netted his third goal of the season. Ten minutes later, Travis Scandalis doubled the Hilltoppers’ lead off an assist from Jasper Newton, giving West Liberty a 2-0 halftime advantage.
In the 69th minute, Alex Watt scored unassisted to push the lead to 3-0 and secure the win for the visitors.
Despite the scoreline, Point Park controlled much of the attack, outshooting West Liberty 15-9 and holding a 6-1 edge in corner kicks. The Hilltoppers, however, had a slight 7-6 advantage in shots on goal.
Guy Lehrer led the Pioneers with two shots on target, while Giovanni Pezzi, Lorenzo Grispello, Ofek Bachar and Ido Chalamish each added one. Goalkeeper Gregorio Capponi made four saves, and West Liberty’s Shai’ya Fitzgerald stopped six to earn the clean sheet.
Williams credited his players for maintaining a positive, team-first culture throughout the season.
“The locker room atmosphere has been great for these guys,” he said. “They take in the criticism from their teammates and coaches, learn from it, and keep moving forward, and that’s been great to see.”
Earlier in the week, the conference honored three Pioneers for their performances this season. Forward Fridolin Gefrorer earned first-team All-MEC honors, while midfielders Pezzi and Lehrer were named to the second team.
Gefrorer, a graduate student from Berlin, Germany, led the team with five goals and 12 points. Pezzi, recorded three goals and two assists, while Lehrer, a junior, tallied two goals and two assists, both game-winners.
The Pioneers finish the season 8-9-2 overall. West Liberty advances to face Concord in Wednesday’s semifinal matchup.
