PITTSBURGH –The Niagara men's soccer team rallied for a 1-1 tie against the ACC's Pittsburgh Panthers on Tuesday night.

"I'm extremely proud of the effort from everyone and it was nice to be back at Pitt and see familiar faces," said head coach Eric Barnes, who played, coached and earned a Juris Doctorate at Pitt. "We dominated the first half and were unfortunate to not score."

All of the scoring took place in the second half, despite Niagara (3-4-1) holding an 8-2 advantage in first half shots.  In the 50th minute, Pitt (2-2-3) broke the deadlock with a goal from Dan Prete who one-timed Kevin Fielden's lay-off pass to the left corner.

The Purple Eagles continued to threaten and were rewarded in the 69th minute.  Callum Willmott streaked past his marker and played a tantalizing cross into the box which was redirected by a Panther defender into his own net to tie the score at 1-1.

The game remained tied at 1-1 after 90 minutes and went into overtime where the Purple Eagles again created most of the chances.  Nicholas Watson, who led the match with six shots, had two chances two minutes apart in the first overtime period with both going wide. NU registered the only shot in the second overtime period, a shot by Willmott. Niagara finished the match with a 15-13 advantage in shots. Keeper Joel Gerberich led the match with four saves.

"The guys showed great resolve throughout the match, Roberto (Fernandez-Andersson) was fantastic in the back, and the entire group was very good going forward," Barnes said.  "We are looking forward to the West Virginia match and the start of conference play."

The Purple Eagles will play at West Virginia on Friday, Sept. 26 at 7 p.m.