Pitt to Host No. 23 Notre Dame for Senior Night

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team will play its final match of the regular season as it hosts No. 23 Notre Dame for Senior Night Saturday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Saturday's match will be broadcast live on ACC Network Extra and may be viewed on WatchESPN/WatchESPN app by clicking here.
Live stats for the match can be found here.
Fans can also follow along with live updates on Twitter.

CELEBRATING OUR SENIORS

The Panthers will recognize eight seniors Saturday night in Craig Bair, Robby Dambrot, Joshua Gaspari, Tom Moxham, Javi Perez, Peter Prescott, Jacob Rooth and Shane Wiedt.
Bair has appeared in 25 games while making five starts during his four years at Pitt. He recently received the PNC Community Champion of the Game award for his service to the Pittsburgh area. Bair will graduate this fall with a dual degree in industrial engineering and economics.
Dambrot came to Pitt in 2017 after transferring from Akron. In his two seasons at Pitt, he has appeared in 17 games while making 15 starts. During that time, he has scored one goal while adding three assists. Dambrot will graduate this fall with a degree in marketing.
In two seasons with the Panthers, Gaspari has appeared in 22 matches while making 10 starts. During that time, he has collected two assists and two goals, including a game-winner against Robert Morris in 2017. Gaspari is pursuing a degree in supply chain management and business information systems.
In three seasons at Pitt, Moxham has appeared in 41 games while starting 29 matches and collecting two assists. He will graduate in the spring with a degree in media and professional communications.
Perez has served as the team captain in both of his seasons at Pitt. He has started 31 matches for the Panthers while collecting seven assists and six goals, including four game-winners. He was also named to the All-ACC Second Team in 2017. Perez is on track to graduate in the spring with a degree in media and professional communications.
Prescott joined the Panthers this season after transferring from Creighton. In his lone season at Pitt, he has made seven starts while playing in 12 matches. Prescott will graduate this fall with a degree in natural sciences.
Rooth came to Pitt in 2016 after transferring from Creighton. He has made two starts in six appearances while collecting 17 saves for the Panthers. Rooth will graduate in the spring with a degree in marketing.
Wiedt joined the Panthers this season after transferring from Akron. In his lone season at Pitt, he has made 12 starts while playing in 13 matches and serving as a key contributor to the Panther defense. Wiedt will graduate this fall with a degree in marketing.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt dropped its final road match of the regular season to West Virginia, 2-1, Tuesday, Oct. 23 at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown, W.Va.
The Mountaineers got on the board first, finding the back of the net in the 16th minute. West Virginia then earned a two goal lead after scoring again in the 49th minute. The Panthers would quickly respond, with sophomore Alexander Dexter scoring off an assist from Rodrigo Almeida in the 50th minute, but were unable to find an equalizer before time expired.
Dexter led the team with two shots, followed by Moxham, Wiedt and sophomore Marcony Pimentel with one shot apiece.

SURVEYING THE STATS

Eight different Panthers have scored a goal this season in Dambrot, Dexter, Perez, Pimentel, sophomores Edward Kizza and Jose Luis Sena Arbona, redshirt freshman Fiorre Mane and freshman Jackson Walti.
Kizza leads the team with 13 goals, followed by Perez with four. Dexter and Pimentel have both netted two goals on the season, with Dambrot, Mane, Sena Arbona and Walti each adding one goal apiece.
Pitt has also seen 11 players record assists on the season.
Dexter leads the squad with four assists, followed by Perez with three and Almeida, Dambrot, Pimentel and Sena Arbona with two. Moxham, Walti and freshmen Nyk Sessock, Alec Townsend and Chandler Vaughn have all added one helper each.

SIZING UP THE 2018 SLATE

Pitt has faced some tough competition in the 2018 season, with a schedule that includes 12 NCAA Tournament teams from a year ago.
In 16 matches, the Panthers have faced seven ranked opponents in then-ranked No. 25 Colgate, No. 4 Akron, No. 5 North Carolina, No. 6 Louisville, No. 12 NC State, No. 11 Virginia and No. 14 Duke.
Pitt's last match of the regular season also features a ranked opponent in No. 23 Notre Dame.

KIZZA COMMANDING ATTENTION

Coming off a freshman campaign in which he scored four goals, Kizza has notched 13 goals through 16 games this season.
Kizza currently ranks sixth in program history for single-season goals. No Pitt player had previously cracked the top-10 in single-season goals since 1977.
The Kampala, Uganda, native currently leads the team in shots (38), points (26), shots on goal (25) and goals (13).
As of Oct. 23, the sophomore ranks fourth in the nation and first in the ACC in total goals (13), seventh in the nation and first in the ACC in shot accuracy (.658) and 11^th in the nation and tied for first in the ACC in total points (26).
Kizza netted three goals in Pitt's second match of the season against Delaware Monday, Aug. 27, making him just the 20^th player in program history to record a hat trick.
The sophomore's goal in the opening minutes of the contest was also the quickest goal to start a game in school history, coming just 1:40 into the match and besting the previous record of 1:58 set in 2006.
Kizza scored both of Pitt's goals in a thrilling 2-1 double overtime win against Clemson Friday, Oct. 5 at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The sophomore scored his first goal in the 10^th minute of the match before closing the game with a score from the middle of the box in the 102^nd minute.
Kizza recorded his second hat trick of the season against Cleveland State Monday, Oct. 8 at Ambrose Urbanic Field, netting two goals in the first half and one in the second.

THE SERIES – NOTRE DAME

The Panthers and Fighting Irish have met 23 times in program history, with Notre Dame holding a 16-4-3 all-time series edge over Pitt.
The teams' split their two contests in 2017, with Pitt taking a 1-0 win over then-ranked No. 7 Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind., before falling to the Fighting Irish in the ACC Tournament.
The Panthers won their first-ever meeting against Notre Dame in 1995, earning a 3-0 win over the Fighting Irish in Pittsburgh.
Head coach Jay Vidovich owns a 4-4-1 mark against Notre Dame from his time at both Wake Forest and Pitt.

SCOUTING THE FIGHTING IRISH

Notre Dame enters Saturday's match with an 8-5-2 [3-3-1 ACC] record, most recently recording a 0-0 double overtime tie to No. 6 Virginia Tuesday, Oct. 23 in Charlottesville, Va.
The Fighting Irish have ranked in the top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches Poll throughout the entire season, ranking as high as number eight.
Notre Dame is led by head coach Chad Riley, who is in his first season with the program. Riley joined the Fighting Irish coaching staff after spending the previous five years at Dartmouth, where he compiled a 51-26-14 (.637) record.
Offensively, Notre Dame is led by senior Patrick Berneski, who has scored six goal on the season. Senior Thomas Ueland has added five goals on the year, followed by senior Sean MacLeod with four. Six other players have scored at least one goal for Notre Dame.
In goal, senior Ryan Krutz has started 11 of 15 matches for the Fighting Irish, recording three shutouts while collecting 32 saves and allowing 16 goals.

TICKETS ON SALE

Tickets may be purchased online or by calling the Panthers Ticket Office at 800-643-7488.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will compete in the first round of the ACC Tournament Wednesday, Oct. 31, with their matchup yet to be determined.

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Pitt to Host No. 23 Notre Dame for Senior Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Craig Bair

Robby Dambrot

Alexander Dexter

Joshua Gaspari

Edward Kizza

Fiorre Mane

Tom Moxham

Javi Perez

Marcony Pimentel

Peter Prescott

Jacob Rooth

Sito Sena

Nyk Sessock

Alec Townsend

Chandler Vaughn

Jackson Walti

Shane Wiedt

Pitt to Host No. 23 Notre Dame for Senior Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Craig Bair

Robby Dambrot

Alexander Dexter

Joshua Gaspari

Edward Kizza

Fiorre Mane

Tom Moxham

Javi Perez

Marcony Pimentel

Peter Prescott

Jacob Rooth

Sito Sena

Nyk Sessock

Alec Townsend

Chandler Vaughn

Jackson Walti

Shane Wiedt

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