Pitt to Open Season with adidas/IU Credit Union Classic

Friday, August 30

Bloomington, Ind.

8 PM

Pitt

Indiana

Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

Pitt to Open Season with adidas/IU Credit Union Classic

8/29/2019 8:44:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Game Notes Indiana Live Stats Indiana Stream ($)Northwestern Live Stats Northwestern Stream ($)

Panthers to Face No. 2 Indiana and Northwestern

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team is set to open the season at the adidas/IU Credit Union Classic in Bloomington, Ind., this weekend. The Panthers will start the tournament with a matchup against No. 2 Indiana Friday, Aug. 30 at 8 p.m. before facing Northwestern Sunday, Sept. 1 at 5 p.m.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Friday's game against Indiana will be broadcast live on BTN+ ($) and may be viewed by clicking here.
Live stats for Friday can be found here.
Sunday's match against Northwestern will be broadcast live on BTN+ (S) and may be viewed by clicking here.
Live stats for Sunday can be found here.
Fans can also follow each game with live updates on Twitter.

2018 SEASON IN REVIEW

Pitt amassed an 8-10-1 overall record while collecting multiple marquee wins.
The Panthers earned regular season victories over Clemson and No. 12 NC State while also picking up an ACC Tournament win against No. 7 Virginia.
Pitt's win against the Cavaliers was its first ACC Tournament victory in program history, with the Panthers' last conference tournament win coming in 1995 via a 3-1 victory against Rutgers in the Big East Tournament.
Following the conclusion of the 2018 season, the Panthers saw several players earn postseason accolades. Edward Kizza was named First Team All-ACC and Second Team All-Region, Javi Perez was selected to the All-ACC Second Team and All-Region Third Team, Chandler Vaughn was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team and the trio also earned All-ACC Academic Team recognition.
Perez also became just the second player in program history to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft after being taken by LAFC in the third round.

SIZING UP THE 2019 SLATE

Pitt faces some tough competition in the 2019 season, with a schedule that includes 10 NCAA Tournament teams and two NCAA College Cup squads from a year ago.
Of the Panthers' competitors this season, nine teams are currently ranked in the top 25 of the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll in No. 2 Indiana, No. 3 Akron, No. 4 Wake Forest, No. 6 North Carolina, No. 9 Notre Dame, No. 10 Duke, No. 12 Virginia, No. 16 Virginia Tech and No. 18 Denver.

SYNOPSIS OF THE SQUAD

Pitt returns 14 players from a season ago in senior Alex Peperak, juniors Kizza, Alexander Dexter and Sito Sena, redshirt sophomores Chad Stout and Tim Townsend, sophomores Vaughn, Rodrigo Almeida, Johan Penaranda, Nyk Sessock, Alexander Steinbach and Jackson Walti and redshirt freshmen Anthony Harding and Alec Townsend.
Both Kizza and Vaughn earned numerous accolades following the conclusion of the 2018 season, with Kizza being selected to the All-ACC First Team and All-Region Second Team and Vaughn being voted to the ACC All-Freshman Team, while both players earned All-ACC Academic Team honors.
The Panthers also welcome 12 newcomers in senior Braden Kline, redshirt juniors Arie Ammann and Tim Ekpone, juniors Matt Bailey and Bryce Washington and freshmen Lucas Cyriacus, Josh Hesson, Luke Mort, Valentin Noel, Arturo Ordonez, Veljko Petkovic and Sebastian Serpa.
The team's four transfer additions come from Penn State (Ammann), Providence (Kline), Rutgers (Washington) and UMBC (Bailey). Ekpone, who competed for the Panthers in 2017, will be rejoining the team for its 2019 campaign.

VIDOVICH'S COACHING CAREER

Head coach Jay Vidovich enters his fourth year with the program heading into the 2019 season.
Vidovich led the Panthers to an 8-10-1 record and their first-ever ACC Tournament victory in 2018.
He helped Perez become just the second player in program history to be selected in the MLS SuperDraft after being taken by LAFC. Vidovich also guided Pitt's first MLS draftee, with Pol Planellas earning the honor in 2018 after also being selected by LAFC.
Prior to Pitt, Vidovich spent 21 years as the head coach at Wake Forest, where he led the Demon Deacons to a 2007 National Championship, made four College Cup appearances and claimed five ACC regular season titles.
The two-time NSCAA Coach of the Year has produced 37 professional players, 21 All-Americans and five ACC Player of the Year honorees while compiling a 290-154-54 (.637) career record.

THE SERIES – INDIANA

The Panthers and Hoosiers will be meeting for the first time in program history this Friday.

SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS

Indiana ended the 2018 season with a 20-3-1 [8-0 B1G] record while winning both the Big Ten regular season and tournament championship last fall.
The Hoosiers advanced to the NCAA College Cup for the second consecutive season, but were unsuccessful in the semifinal, dropping the match to then-ranked No. 15 Maryland, 2-0.
Their performance in the College Cup earned the Hoosiers a No. 2 ranking in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, right behind 2018 NCAA Champion Maryland.
Indiana is coached by Todd Yeagley, who enters his 11th year with the program. Yeagley holds a 122-45-34 record with the Hoosiers and 129-54-36 career record.
The Hoosiers return 16 players from a season ago while welcoming 14 newcomers. Indiana will however have to make up for some tough losses as both its top goal scorer and leader in assists are now gone, with Andrew Gutman (11 goals) and Trevor Swartz (16 assists) pacing the squad last season.

THE SERIES – NORTHWESTERN

Sunday's match will be the first meeting between the Panthers and Wildcats in program history.

SCOUTING THE WILDCATS

Northwestern closed out its 2018 campaign with a 6-9-5 [0-5-3 B1G] record.
The Wildcats advanced to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament before falling in the second round to then-ranked No. 1 Indiana.
Northwestern is coached by Tim Lenahan, who enters his 20^th year with the program. Lenahan has compiled a 169-140-51 record with the Wildcats and a 295-208-62 career record.
The Wildcats welcome back 18 players from last year's team while introducing nine new players.
Northwestern's top point-scorer is now gone, with Camden Buescher leading the 2018 squad with seven goals and two assists (16 points). But, the Wildcats do welcome back Matt Moderwell, who placed second on the team with 11 points via five goals and one assist.

TICKETS NOW ON SALE

Flex season tickets for all nine regular season home matches are available to purchase for $30. The package includes nine tickets that can be used traditionally (one ticket/game) or in any combination (3 tickets/3 games, 9 tickets/1 game, etc). Season ticket holders will also receive a Pitt soccer scarf. Single game tickets for all home matches are now available as well. Purchases may be made online at pittsburghpanthers.com/tickets or by calling the Panthers Ticket Office at 800-643-7488.

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