It’s bad enough having three goals scored against you in one game. It’s even worse when all three goals come from the same player.

Pittsburgh junior forward Billy Brush did just that in Sunday’s men’s soccer match against Syracuse. Brush netted one goal late in the first half and two in the second in Pitt’s 3-2 victory against the visiting Orangemen.

Syracuse players and coaches are currently refusing to speak with Daily Orange reporters. The Orangemen (4-8-5, 1-5-4 Big East) ended their season with zero road wins.

Brush scored more goals against Syracuse than against every other Pitt opponent combined. Until Sunday, he’d scored twice all season. Brush earned Big East Offensive Player of the Week honors for his exploits against SU.

‘It is frustrating when you know you’re capable of making plays, but for some reason or another the opportunities don’t work out,’ Brush said. ‘The weather was nice, unlike several of the other games we’ve had. I was ready to play. It was just my day.’

Brush’s hat trick makes him the 11th player in Pitt history to accomplish the feat.

‘Billy scored a couple of great goals,’ Pittsburgh head coach Joe Luxbacher said. ‘He had a career game; he had a couple of bombs.’

Brush fired his first goal, which came from 25 yards out, with less than two minutes remaining in the first half and tied the game, 1-1. Luxbacher said the goal motivated the Panthers.

‘Billy scoring at the end of the first half was critical,’ Luxbacher said. ‘It wasn’t really a turning point, but it kept us in the game.’

SU’s first goal came in the 24th minute, when Kirk Johnson fed a cross to Jeff Evans, who redirected the ball into the net.

Freshman Frank Bruno tallied the Orangemen’s second goal, but SU lost the lead because its defense failed to stop Brush.

‘Our offense was able to pass the ball consistently in the game to get through the midfield and control the ball,’ Brush said. ‘I made the right runs through the defense and my teammates made the key passes to get me the ball at the right time.’

The Panthers overcame two, one-goal deficits, marking the first time all season Pittsburgh (6-11-1, 3-6-1) has rebounded after being down twice in a game.

‘I think the turning point came after my second goal,’ Brush said. ‘With each goal, the energy of our team seemed to lift, and our play improved.’

Aside from Brush, Luxbacher was impressed with the Syracuse offense and was pleased that his team held it to two goals. Both teams had 11 shots.

‘Syracuse is a good attacking team, and our defense was solid,’ Luxbacher said. ‘This win was good for us. Coming off a bad loss, it was nice to beat a good team.

‘Billy is a guy that has shown some ability. Confidence is a big thing in scoring goals. Maybe this game will give him the boost he needs. It will be something to build on next year.’

Published on November 3, 2003 at 12:00 pm