2023-11-10 19:33:50
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PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh women’s soccer team is set to host the Ohio State Buckeyes in the First Round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, Saturday, Nov. 11th. The tournament matchup is set for a 7 PM first kick and will be streamed live on ESPN+.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Saturday night’s NCAA Tournament matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Live stats will be available HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will be posted on X, formally known as Twitter, by following the Pitt women’s soccer account @Pitt_WSOC.
Fans can purchase tickets prior to the matchup online, HERE.
THE MATCHUP
The No. 11 Panthers earned back-to-back selections to the NCAA Tournament, securing a No. 7 seed – qualifying for the Tournament field as one of the 22 at-large bids.
This marks the Panthers second appearance in the NCAA Tournament in program history – hosting the opening round for the second year in a row.
The Buckeyes will be appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the 17th time in program history – having entered under the direction of head coach Lori Walker-Hock all 17 times.
Ohio State currently holds a 14-15-2 record in their NCAA Tournament appearances.
The winner of Saturday night’s game will continue to the Second Round of the 2023 NCAA Championships which will be played on Friday, Nov. 17 at non-predetermined campus sites.
THE SERIES
The Panthers and the Buckeyes face off officially for the first time since 2013 – marking the fifth official meeting in series history.
Ohio State currently holds a 3-1 edge on the Panthers – taking the 2-0 win back in 2013.
In exhibition and spring season matchups with the Buckeyes, Pitt has held a 2-1-1 edge to Ohio State.
SCOUTING OHIO STATE
The Buckeyes completed their season with a 9-7-2 overall record – tying for sixth overall in the Big Ten Conference.
Last time out, Ohio State fell to No. 19 Nebraska in quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament, 3-2. Freshman Amanda Schlueter and Ava Bramblett secured the two goals for the Buckeyes.
Kaylin Dukovich is leading the pack for the Buckeyes – having posted 27 points with 11 goals and five assists on the season.
Freshman Amanda Schlueter posted an Ohio State team high of seven assists and five goals so far this season.
Six Buckeyes signed their names on All-Big Ten conference teams with two earning a spot on the All-Big Ten Freshmen Team.
ALL-CONFERENCE HONORS
The Pittsburgh, PA native, Sarah Schupansky was selected to the All-ACC First-Team – becoming the only Panther to ever receive this honor. The forward is paving the way for the Panthers – leading in goals (10), assists (10) and points (30). Schupansky earned the ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors in the first week of play this season after her key set pieces in the matchup against Bucknell. Her efforts throughout the season have helped the Panthers make history by upsetting Duke, breaking the program record in goals, assists, points, ACC Wins and first ever win in the ACC Championships. In the historic game against UNC, Schupansky posted the second assist to Landy Mertz who crossed it to Amanda West to complete the game winning goal. This was the first ever win against the Tar Heels in program history which secured the Panthers’ spot in the ACC Championship Semifinals.
For the fourth time in her career, Amanda West earned All-ACC honors (second team (2023, 2020)), third team (2021,2019)). After her comeback from injury last season, West come out ready to tack on to her records here at Pitt. This Panther captain has been nothing short of monumental for this squad – posting nine goals, eight assists, and 26 points so far this season. Her contributions this year continue to hold the all-time scoring and assist leader title to her name. West’s efforts in the historic game against North Carolina secured the spot in the semifinals in the ACC Championships for the Panthers. The fifth year headed in the game-winning-goal in the first 10-minute overtime period after a clean assist from Mertz and Schupansky.
Three Panthers placed their names on the All-ACC Third Team: Landy Mertz, Samiah Phiri, and Deborah Abiodun. Mertz, Phiri and Abiodun join West as the only Panthers in program history to earn this honor.
This is Mertz second consecutive year receiving this honor after earning a spot on the All-ACC Third-Team last year for her key efforts to the historic 2022 season. The Pittsburgh, PA native was the star performer in the ACC Championship Quarterfinals on Sunday night – producing key set pieces for the Panthers’ victory. Her efforts helped the Panthers secure their first win in program history against the Tar Heels and their first ever win in the ACC Championships. Due to her strong work on the field, Mertz also landed a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week.
Phiri earns her first All-ACC team accolade after quickly rising to one of Pitt’s most key players this season. The junior has produced four game winning goals against Drexel, Bucknell, Cincinnati and Virginia Tech to lead the Panthers. She has been a strong contributor in the front pack, leading the pack in goals with Schupansky – both having ten goals on the season. Phiri also earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer mid-season Top-100 list – coming in at No. 80.
Midfielder Abiodun has secured a spot on both the All-ACC Third Team and the All- ACC Freshman Team. Abiodun is the third Pitt player named to the All-ACC Freshman Team, joining Katie Zailski (2022) and West (2019). The freshman has started in 14 out of the 17 games played this season – totaling 1004 minutes. This key player came in ready to contribute to the history making team. Abiodun has posted four goals and three points on the season thus far – totaling 11 points. Along with these two honors, Abiodun also earned a spot on the TopDrawerSoccer mid-season Top-100 Freshman list earlier this season – coming in at No. 16.
ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
After their monumental efforts in the ACC Championships, both West and Mertz secured a spot on the ACC All-Tournament Team.
This is the first time in program history that Pitt women’s soccer has placed any athlete on an ACC All-Tournament Team.
BUILDING THE PROGRAM
The Panthers are now 59-44-8 under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Randy Waldrum. In his first two years at Pitt, Waldrum went 9-22-4 – working towards a massive rebuild. Now the Panthers have gone 50-22-4 over the last three-plus seasons.
PANTHERS IN THE POLLS
United Soccer Coaches
TopDrawerSoccer
College Soccer News
Preseason
14
15
17
Week 1
21
14
16
Week 2
21
13
14
Week 3
22
11
12
Week 4
RV
15
16
Week 5
RV
11
14
Week 6
—
18
22
Week 7
RV
14
21
Week 8
17
11
15
Week 9
18
9
11
Week 10
20
13
17
Week 11
11
10
16
RANKINGS ALL AROUND
The Panthers are currently ranked in the top-10 in the nation for assists per game (2.75), corner kicks per game (8.75), points per game (7.85), shots per game (20.05), shots on goal per game (9.70), total assists (55), and total points (157).
Sarah Schupansky currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for assists per game (0.50), game winning goals (3), goals per game (0.50), points per game (1.50), shot accuracy (0.50), shots per game (2.80), shots on goal per game (1.40), total assists (10), total goals (10), and total points (30).
Amanda West currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for goals per game (0.45), points per game (1.25), shot accuracy (0.526), shots per game (3.80), shots on goal per game (2.00), total assists (7), total goals (9), and total points (25).
Samiah Phiri currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for game winning goals (4), goals per game (0.50), points per game (1.15), shots per game (3.10), total goals (10), and total points (23).
CONTINUING TO MAKE HISTORY
Pitt advances to the semifinals in the ACC Championships for the first time in program history.
The Panthers upset UNC for the first time in program history after posting the game winning goal in the first 10-minute period of overtime.
Pitt is entered the ACC Championships with back-to-back appearances after landing a spot in the tournament for the first time in program history last season.
The Panthers completed the regular season contest undefeated at Ambrose Urbanic field, 8-0-1, setting a new home winning record.
Pitt has secured the program record for most ACC wins in a single season (6).
The Panthers tacked on two goals against Virginia Tech – posting a new program record for goals secured in a single season (49).
This team continues to break program records in points (157 – 51 goals, 55 assists), goals (51), assists (55), ACC wins (6) and corner kicks (175) so far this season.
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