No. 5 Seed Pitt Hosts Northern Illinois in NCAA Second Round

PITTSBURGH – The No. 5 seed Pitt men's soccer team hosts Northern Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Kick-off is slated for 4 p.m. on ACCNX.

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THE SERIES – NORTHERN ILLINOIS

The Panthers and Huskies meet for the first time in program history Sunday afternoon.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich also meets Northern Illinois for the first time in his 27-year career.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

Northern Illinois enters the match with an overall record of 15-2-2. It finished the season 4-0-2 in the MAC while capturing the conference championship with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Georgia State Nov. 14.
The Huskies most recently defeated Oakland, 2-1, at home Thursday evening in the NCAA Tournament First Round.
Northern Illinois enters with the fifth-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 2.47 goals per contest. Its 47 goals rank fourth nationally, while its 40 assists and 134 points rank 21st and sixth in the country, respectively.
Leading the Huskies is Nick Markanich, who leads the nation in goals scored (16), total points (37) and game-winning goals (7). His efforts throughout the season earned him MAC Player of the Year for the second-straight year.
Nick's brother, Anthony Markanich, is second on the team in points (18) with five goals and eight assists.
The Huskies own a 2-1 record in games against common Pitt opponents this year, defeating West Virginia (2-0) and Akron (2-1) while falling to Notre Dame (2-0).
Head Coach Ryan Swan was named the conference's Gary V. Palmisano Coach of the Year.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

Pitt is hosting its third ever NCAA Tournament game and second at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
The Panthers first NCAA game in Pittsburgh was at Pitt Stadium Nov. 22, 1965 against East Stroudsburg (L, 2-0).
Pitt hosted Lehigh at Ambrose Urbanic Field Nov. 21, 2019 in the First Round. The 2-0 victory that night was the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.
The Panthers return to the Ambrose Urbanic Field in the NCAA Tournament exactly two years from the date of its first NCAA Tournament victory.

LOEFFELSEND HEADLINES ALL-ACC AWARDS

Graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend headlined the All-ACC postseason awards, earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He was also named to the All-ACC First Team for the second straight season.
Löeffelsend is the first back-to-back DPOTY since Wake Forest's Ike Opara in 2008-09. Head Coach Jay Vidovich coached Opara during his 20-year coaching career with the Demon Deacons.
Vidovich was named ACC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and seventh time in his career.
A program record six players were named to the All-ACC Second Team - Rodrigo Almeida, Bertin Jacquesson, Valentin Noel, Arturo Ordoñez, Veljko Petkovic and Jackson Walti.
Nico Campuzano received a spot on the Third Team, while Guilherme Feitosa earned All-ACC Freshman Team.
The Panthers have had a total of 19 players selected to the All-ACC Teams in the past two years.

WHEN PITT SCORES FIRST

Pitt is 10-0-1 on the season when scoring the first goal of the match.
In the past two seasons, the Panthers are 25-0-1 when scoring first.
Dating back to 2016 in Jay Vidovich's first season as Pitt's head coach, the Panthers are 50-6-1 in games they score the first goal.
Under Vidovich, the Panthers played to their first draw when scoring the first goal at Virginia Oct. 22 (2-2).

JACQUESSON EN FUE

Sophomore Frenchman Bertin Jacquesson has been a major contributor on offense this season, totaling five goals, eight assists and averaging 1.06 points per game.
The forward converted his lone shot into a goal against Clemson (Sept. 25) and followed that match up with two assists in a home victory vs. Syracuse (10/1).
He registered four points in Pitt's shutout victory over Cleveland State (10/5) with a goal and two assists and aided Pitt in its 3-2 victory over No. 3 Duke (10/9) with a goal.
Jacquesson earned his fifth assist of the season against Virginia on Valentin Noel's first goal of the match.
He followed the Virginia match up with his sixth assist of the season vs. UMass.
Jacquesson scored Pitt's first goal against No. 21 Virginia Tech, helping Pitt record three goals in less than seven minutes in the first half in a 4-1 victory.
The Frenchman recorded two assists in Pitt's 2-1 double-OT ACC Quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech, his fifth multi-assist game of his career.
Jacquesson is second on the team in points (18), tied for third in goals (5) and is tied for first in assists (8). He is second on the team with a .543 shot on goal percentage (min. 10 shots).

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

The Panthers have been one of the best teams in the country on their own turf, owning a 20-3-1 in the last three seasons.
Pitt held a 19-match home winning streak from Oct. 7, 2019 to Nov. 10, 2021, which at the time was the longest streak in the ACC and second longest unbeaten streak in the nation.
Pitt fell at home, 2-0, in the ACC Semifinal to #20 Notre Dame Nov. 10 for the first time since an Oct. 4, 2019 defeat to #20 North Carolina.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 28-16-3 at home in six plus seasons at Pitt and is 19-3-1 in the past two seasons at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
Since the start of the 2019 season, Pitt has outscored its opposition 75-26 at home with a 34-10 mark this season.

No. 5 Seed Pitt Hosts Northern Illinois in NCAA Second Round

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Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Nico Campuzano

Guilherme Feitosa

Bertin Jacquesson

Valentin Noel

Arturo Ordoñez

Veljko Petkovic

Jackson Walti

No. 5 Seed Pitt Hosts Northern Illinois in NCAA Second Round

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Nico Campuzano

Guilherme Feitosa

Bertin Jacquesson

Valentin Noel

Arturo Ordoñez

Veljko Petkovic

Jackson Walti

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