No. 13 Pitt Hosts No. 3 Duke Saturday Evening

PITTSBURGH – The No. 13 Pitt men's soccer team concludes its three-match home stand Saturday evening with a pivotal Atlantic Coast Conference match against No. 3 Duke.

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THE SERIES – DUKE

Saturday's contest is the 12th in series history. The two teams first met in 1955 in Pittsburgh before next playing again in 2013.
The Blue Devils lead the all-time series 6-3-2. Pitt has won each of the last three meetings, including at home (2019), neutral site (2020) and away (2021).
In the series since 2019, these two teams have combined for 17 goals and 287 minutes played.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 11-16-7 all-time against the Blue Devils and is 3-2-2 while Pitt's head coach.

SCOUTING THE BLUE DEVILS

Duke enters as the No. 3 team in the country with a 9-1 overall record and 4-0 conference mark.
Saturday's match holds ACC Coastal first-place implications. Duke enters with 12 points to Pitt's nine. A Pitt win will tie Duke at 12, but head-to-head record will give Pitt the lead in the division.
Senior goalkeeper Eliot Hamill enters with the best save percentage in the country, posting a .912 stoppage mark. His .367 goals against average is also third in the nation.
Sophomore Thorleifur Ulfarsson leads the conference - and is sixth in the country - in goals with eight. He's also third in the ACC and 19th nationally in total points (16).
Duke's goal differential is fifth-best in the nation, scoring 23 goals to allowing only three.
The Blue Devils lead the conference (14th nationally) with a .710 shots on goal per contest mark.

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

The Panthers enter Saturday with the longest home-winning streak in the ACC.
Pitt's 15-straight matches won at Ambrose Urbanic Field is currently the most at any home venue in the conference. Clemson previously held that title with 31-straight wins at Historic Riggs Field before Pitt defeated them 2-0 Sept. 25.
Pitt's last home loss came Oct. 4, 2019 against No. 20 North Carolina (2-1).
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 24-15-3 at home in six plus seasons at Pitt and is 15-2-1 in the past two seasons at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

LAW-FULL-ZEND'S IT IN

Graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend (yas-pur Law-full-zend) finished the 2020-21 season as one of the best passers in the country and is keeping that status this season.
The Cologne, Germany, product is third in the nation in assists (7) and assists per game (.88).
The defender recorded his first assist of the year at West Virginia and followed that match up with two at home vs. Lehigh.
Löeffelsend registered an assist against both North Carolina and Penn State before tallying two at home vs. Cleveland State.
In 27 career games, he is third all-time in career assists with 16.

PITT RANKED NO. 13 IN UPDATED POLL

The Panthers were ranked No. 13 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Poll Tuesday, Oct. 5.
This marks the 26th-straight week the Panthers have been ranked.
Of the 26 weeks ranked, 20 have been in the top-five.

PANTHERS SHUT OUT CLEVELAND STATE

Pitt earned its fifth shutout of the season with a 4-0 victory Tuesday, Oct. 5 at home vs. Cleveland State.
Four different players scored for the Panthers, including Guilherme Feitosa, Bertin Jacquesson, Michael Sullivan and Lucas Matuszewksi.
Pitt tallied a season-high eight assists as a team and totaled 20 shots for the first time this year.

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