Pitt to Open ACC Play against No. 1 Wake Forest

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team will open ACC play with a home match against No. 1 Wake Forest 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 13 at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The contest will mark the first time in program history that the Panthers have faced the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Friday's game will be broadcast live on ACCNX and may be viewed by clicking here.
Live stats for Friday can be found here.
Fans can also follow the match with live updates on Twitter.

PROMOTIONS

The first 100 students in attendance will receive a free t-shirt.

LAST TIME OUT

Pitt played to a 3-3 double overtime draw against Delaware Monday, Sept. 9 at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
Following an early goal by Delaware, the Panthers scored three unanswered to jump out to a 3-1 advantage, but a second half rally by the Blue Hens led to the eventual 3-3 draw.
Junior Sito Sena scored two goals in the match via penalty kicks, with junior Edward Kizza adding a goal of his own off assists from Sena and sophomore Rodrigo Almeida.
Sena closed out the contest with a team-high seven shots, while Kizza followed behind with four. Freshman Veljko Petkovic collected three shots on the night, with freshmen Josh Hesson and Arturo Ordonez adding two apiece. Juniors Matt Bailey and Alexander Dexter, along with Almeida, each recorded one shot apiece in the matchup.

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.
The Panthers faced No. 2 Indiana in their season-opener, and are set to square off with eight other teams either ranked or receiving votes in the United Soccer Coaches Poll in No. 1 Wake Forest, No. 2 Duke, No. 6 Virginia, No. 9 Virginia Tech, No. 10 Notre Dame, No. 18 North Carolina, RV Boston College and RV Akron.

KIZZA COMMANDING ATTENTION

Junior Edward Kizza closed out his 2018 campaign tied for third in program history for single-season goals (15) while ranking fifth in points (30).
Kizza ranked fifth in goals nationally, ninth in shot accuracy (.622) and 11^th in points per game (1.67), while ranking first in each category among ACC players.
The historic season led Kizza to First Team All-ACC honors, Second Team All-Region recognition and a spot on the All-ACC Academic Team.
Through four games, Kizza paces the team in shots (15), shots on goal (nine), points (eight) and goals (four).
The Kampala, Uganda, native picked up right where he left off to start the 2019 season, recording a brace against No. 2 Indiana in the squad's season-opener Friday, Aug. 30. In the match, Kizza recorded the fastest consecutive goals in program history after scoring at the 35:24 and 35:31 mark, with the seven-second difference besting the old record of 34 seconds set by Michael Tuohy and John Cordier in 2013.

FRESHMEN FOCUS

The Panthers freshmen class has made an immediate impact through the first four games of the 2019 season.
Five freshmen have already seen playing time through the early stretch of the season in Lucas Cyriacus, Josh Hesson, Valentin Noel, Arturo Ordonez and Veljko Petkovic, with starts from Noel (four), Hesson (three), Petkovic (two) and Ordonez (two).
Pitt's freshmen class has accounted for 25 percent of the team's goals so far this season, with Hesson and Petkovic recording one apiece, while juniors Edward Kizza (four) and Sito Sena (two) have collected the others.

FACING HIS FORMER TEAM

Head coach Jay Vidovich will be facing his former team for just the second time after spending 21 seasons with Wake Forest from 1994-2014.
During his time with the Demon Deacons, Vidovich led the squad to a 2007 National Championship while also making four College Cup appearances and claiming five ACC regular season titles.
The two-time NSCAA Coach of the Year also produced 35 professional players, 21 All-Americans and five ACC Player of the Year honorees while compiling a 272-121-50 (.670) record while at Wake Forest.

THE SERIES – WAKE FOREST

The Panthers and Demon Deacons have met just three times in program history, with Wake Forest controlling a 3-0 all-time edge against Pitt.
The two teams' first meeting came in 2013, with Wake Forest collecting a 2-0 road win against the Panthers.
The squads' last contest came in 2017, with the Demon Deacons picking up a 2-0 home victory against Pitt.

SCOUTING THE DEMON DEACONS

Wake Forest enters Friday's contest with a 4-0 record, most recently picking up a 4-0 win over Houston Baptist Monday, Sept. 9.
The Demon Deacons closed out their 2018 campaign with an 18-3 (7-1 ACC) mark, advancing to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before dropping a 1-0 decision to Akron, who eventually advanced to the NCAA Championship game.
After entering the season ranked No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll, Wake Forest has held the No. 1 ranking in the first two regular season polls.
The Demon Deacons are coached by Bobby Muuss, who owns a 77-11-7 record during his time at Wake Forest while amassing a 151-67-32 career record after spending time at both Wake Forest and Denver.
Through four games, freshman Calvin Harris (three) and junior Justin McMaster (two) lead the squad in goals, with five other players adding one apiece.
In goal, redshirt sophomore Andrew Pannenberg has started all four matches for the Demon Deacons, collecting one save while allowing two goals.

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.

UP NEXT

The Panthers will close out their homestand with a match against Akron 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 16 at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

#H2P | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Pitt to Open ACC Play against No. 1 Wake Forest

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Matt Bailey

Lucas Cyriacus

Alexander Dexter

Josh Hesson

Edward Kizza

Valentin Noel

Arturo Ordoñez

Veljko Petkovic

Sito Sena

Pitt to Open ACC Play against No. 1 Wake Forest

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Matt Bailey

Lucas Cyriacus

Alexander Dexter

Josh Hesson

Edward Kizza

Valentin Noel

Arturo Ordoñez

Veljko Petkovic

Sito Sena

Related Videos