PITTSBURGH, PA --- It has been said that good things come to those who wait. For the Howard men's soccer team, the long wait for victory yielded something truly extraordinary.

Freshman forward McKinley Smith scored a goal in the 105th minute to give the Bison a 1-0 double overtime triumph over the University of Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening at the Petersen Sports Complex's Ambrose Urbanic Field.

For Howard (1-11-2, 0-0-1 Sun Belt), the victory was head coach Phillip Gyau's first as a collegiate head coach and gives the Bison's new conference, the Sun Belt, its first-ever win in men's soccer over an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent. Pittsburgh's record fell to 3-7-3 (0-4-1 ACC) after the Panthers were pushed to their fourth double overtime home game in seven contests this season.

The win was Howard's first since the Bison beat Washington Adventist at home on October 20, 2013. It was also HU's first win over the Panthers since the 1960s and proved to be the high water mark of a recent turnaround by the team. After struggling in its first eight contests and going winless, Howard has managed a 1-3-2 record over its last six games.

Finally, the Bison replaced the memory of an 9-0 road defeat at the hands of Pitt last season, the last meeting between the two programs.

With around 6:30 remaining in the second overtime, Smith dribbled the ball to the top of the box and fired a shot that was blocked by the Pitt defense. The Panthers advanced the ball, looking to reach their attacking third. However, senior defender Frederick Todd III intercepted a midfield pass and began the eventual game-winning sequence.

After a series of crafty passes, the ball found its way to the foot of freshman midfielder Stephen Douba near the right corner of the box. Douba sent a ground pass across the field, past senior defender Donny-Joshua Felix, who purposely stopped to allow the ball to go by him. The move created a lane for Smith, who gathered the ball with one touch and shot a right-footed strike past Pitt goalie Dan Lynd, who could only drop to a knee as the ball when into the lower right corner of the net.

Statistically, Howard struggled against their Power 5 conference opponent. The Panthers took twice as many shots as Howard (25 to 12), put three times as many shots on goal (nine to three) and held a 12 to two edge in corner kicks by constantly attacking the Bison defense and quickly regaining possession after Howard clear attempts.

The Bison's response: stay the course, play strong and be ready for the right moment.

Despite the shot numbers, Howard played one of its best overall games of the season. Offensively, the Bison created quality chances with good passing and playing through contact to set up opportunities. The team's two best chances early on came in the first half.

In the 21st minute freshman forward Nigel Grant dodged Lynd on a breakaway but struggled to gather himself for a clean chance as his shot ended up hitting the crossbar. With less than three minutes to go in the half, junior Warren Dennis made his move, splitting the defense but missing widely on his shot attempt.

Pitt would outshoot Howard from the second period on, 16-5, but Howard capitalized when it was most important - Smith's game-winning tally.

Defensively, the back line provided strong support for senior goalkeeper Eric Hamilton, who still managed to add eight saves to this NCAA leading 81 coming into the game.

Howard will return to Sun Belt action on Saturday, October 18th with a road matchup against Georgia Southern.