Men's Soccer Upsets No. 2 St. John's, 1-0

9/19/2000

Senior Chad Porter scores game-winning goal for the undefeated Panthers.

JAMAICA, N.Y. - The Pittsburgh men's soccer team upset second-ranked St. John's with a 1-0 shutout in Jamaica, N.Y. as the Panthers kicked off Big East Conference competition on Sept. 9. Senior midfielder Chad Porter (Irwin, Pa./Penn-Trafford) scored the game-winning goal in the eighth minute to give Pittsburgh its third win of the season. The Red Storm, ranked second nationally by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) poll, were handed their first loss of the year.

Senior midfielder Ben Garry (Rochester, Minn./Lourdes) took a pass from defender Chris Churchill (Sewickley, Pa./Quaker Valley) and crossed the ball to Porter in front of the net. Porter then beat St. John's freshman goalkeeper Bill Gaudette at the 8:56 mark to give the Panthers the early lead. It was Porter's first goal of the year.

With six seconds remaining in the match, Red Storm senior Anthony Theorides nearly tied the game with a header, but Pittsburgh keeper Justin Gaul (Huntingdon Valley, Pa./William Tennant) made a diving stab to deflect the shot and preserve his first shutout of the season. On the night, Gaul tallied six saves on 13 St. John's shots.

Pittsburgh (3-0/1-0 Big East) remains undefeated on the year and will host its home opener against crosstown-rival Duquesne on Wednesday, Sept. 13. The game will be held at Shaler Area High School and will begin at 3:30 p.m.