Women’s Soccer Ends Three-Game Homestand with NC State Saturday

Saturday, October 19

Pittsburgh, PA

7 PM

Pitt

NC State

Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

Women’s Soccer Ends Three-Game Homestand with NC State Saturday

10/17/2019 1:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer

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PITTSBURGH – Pitt women's soccer team concludes a three-game ACC homestand at Ambrose Urbanic Field against (RV) NC State Saturday at 7 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG

The match will air live on the ACCNX, which is available to view on Watch ESPN.
Fans can also follow live stats HERE.
Updates from the match will also be provided on Twitter. Follow @Pitt_WSOC for the latest news and updates about the team.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS GAME

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month and the Panthers will wear purple laces with their cleats for Saturday's game in support of the cause.
Pitt will collect toiletry items at the match for donation to the Women's Center and Shelter of Pittsburgh. A list of accepted items can be found at WCSPittsburgh.org.
A Pitt prize will be given out for each individual that donates.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt fell 3-1 to No. 3 North Carolina Sunday afternoon.
The Panthers led 1-0 at halftime thanks to Vildan Kardesler's first goal of the season, but the Tar Heels scored three second half goals to secure the victory.
Kardesler's goal was just the fifth allowed by North Carolina this season and first in league play, breaking a 481-minute shutout streak.
Amaia Pena made a season-high eight saves.

SCOUTING NC STATE

NC State enters the game with a 6-4-4 overall record and seven points (1-1-4) in league play for seventh place in the conference standings.
Besides dropping a road game to North Carolina (1-0), the Wolfpack have beaten Boston College (2-0) and tied three ranked teams (then-No. 8 Duke, No. 1 Virginia and No. 20 Virginia Tech) and also at (RV) Wake Forest.
Senior midfielder Tziarra King has been one of the most prolific scorers in the ACC in her career, ranking this year second in goals (10) and points (26).
Junior goalkeeper Jessica Berlin has started every game and has a 0.79 goals against average, 35 saves and three shutouts.

THE SERIES

NC State has a 5-2 advantage in the all-time series.
The two schools will play each other for the seventh-straight season as ACC opponents, with Pitt recording a pair of shutout wins in 2014 (3-0) and 2015 (2-0).

FINDING THE RIGHT LINEUP

With a team of 21 newcomers, it will take some time to find the right lineup that will help the Panthers succeed this season.
Through 14 matches, the Panthers have used 13 different starting XI combinations with just three Pitt players starting every match this season.
The Panthers used the same starting lineup in consecutive matches for the first time all season against Saint Joseph's (Sept. 8) and VCU (Sept. 12).
The 13 different combinations have been successful for the Panthers as they have produced 18 goals, seven more than all of last season.

PANTHER CUBS MAKING MOST OF PLAYING TIME

The Panthers are one of the youngest teams in the nation this season with the 21 newcomers, including a 17-player freshman class.
So far this season, Pitt has started nine freshmen in different spots of the lineup. The nine freshman have combined to start 71 matches this season.
Two freshmen have started every match so far this season, Amanda West and Mackenzie Edwards.

WEST CONTINUES STRONG START TO FRESHMAN CAMPAIGN

Amanda West has started off her career on a tear for the Panthers as she has notched at least one point in 10 of her first 14 career matches.
West opened up her career with the best debut in program history as she netted a hat-trick and an assist including the game-winner in the 84th minute as Pitt beat Loyola Marymount 5-4. Her seven points are the most in a game by a Pitt player since 2001 and most in Ambrose Urbanic Field history by a Panther.
So far this season, the striker has netted eight goals, eight assists and 24 points along with four game-winning goals. Her 24 points are the second-most, and needs two more to tie Cande Ruiz (1998) for the most.
With eight goals, West ranks tied for fourth-most in a single-year in school history with Ashley Cuba (2011). In game-winning goals, she's tied for third with Ruiz.
In assists she's tied with Roosa Arvas (2012) for third-most and already ranks for ninth in career assists.
In ACC play, she has racked up five assists in six games. She leads the conference in shots on goal (2.14 per game) and is tied for first in game-winning goals, tied for second in assists, tied for third in points, fourth in shots (3.43 per game), and tied for fourth in goals.
Earlier this year, West became just the second Panther in program history to earn ACC Offensive Player of the Week honors and the first Pitt freshman to do so. The last Panther to earn the weekly recognition was Taylor Pryce in 2015 when she was Co-Offensive Player of the Week.

ACC WINLESS STREAK SNAPPED

Last Thursday Pitt snapped a three-year ACC winless streak by defeating Boston College 2-1 in overtime.
Amanda West headed in the golden goal in the 94th minute, off a cross by Cheyenne Hudson.
Pitt went officially three years and one day in-between ACC wins, with the previous victory coming on Oct. 9, 2016 against Miami (1-0 in overtime). The Panthers were 0-25-3 in between the two wins in league action.
The ACC victory was the first for second-year head coach Randy Waldrum.
The last three ACC wins for the Panthers have come in overtime (1-0 over Syracuse on Oct. 11, 2015).

EASY OUT NO MORE

The improvement under second-year head Randy Waldrum has been evident by the team's results this season. Pitt has proved to be not an automatic win by fellow ACC opponents, but a team that will play tough against anyone, including the nation's best teams.
Last year, the Panthers scored just 11 goals and had a -38 goal differential. In ACC play, they were outscored 42-2 with an average score of 4.2-0.2.
This season, Pitt has scored 18 goals with a -6 goal differential. In six games of conference action, it has been outscored by only six goals (13-7) with an average score of 2.2-1.2.
The Panthers were held scoreless in all but one league game last year and have scored against four of six opponents this season.
Last year Pitt lost to Boston College 7-0, North Carolina 3-0 and Florida State 4-0. The Panthers this season beat the Eagles 2-1 and lost only 1-0 at the Seminoles and 3-1 to the Tar Heels.

THREE PANTHERS SHARING TIME IN GOAL

Goalkeepers Caitlyn Lazzarini (freshman), Pena (redshirt-junior) and Katherine Robinson (sophomore) have each started and played a full game this season.
Pena has seen the most action, playing 955 minutes in 11 games started, including each ACC game. She's notched a 3-5-2 record, 1.60 goals against average, 30 saves and a .638 save percentage.
Lazzarini started in back-to-back games with three saves in a shutout win over Saint Joseph's and three more saves with a goal allowed at VCU.
Robinson has a 2.70 goals against average, eight saves and a 0-1-1 record. She has started the second half in the last two games, replacing Pena.

OH CAPTAIN, MY CAPTAIN

Prior to the beginning of the 2019 campaign, the Pitt women's soccer team voted on captains for the season and selected Juliana Vazquez and Kentucky transfer Hollie Olding to lead the team this year.
Vazquez is a four-year starter up front for the Panthers as she has appeared in 66 games while notching 57 starts over her impressive career.
Olding joined the Panthers for her junior campaign after spending her last two seasons of collegiate soccer at Kentucky. The England native has been named team captain in each of her three seasons in college as she earned the badge as a freshman and sophomore for the Wildcats. For her career, Olding has appeared in 39 matches while making 24 starts as she has netted four goals and eight points so far in her career.

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