No. 1 Pitt Concludes Regular Season Thursday vs. Virginia

PITTSBURGH – The No. 1 University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team concludes the spring regular season Thursday night against ACC opponent Virginia at 7 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

PANTHERS RECLAIM NO. 1 RANKING

For the first time this spring and sixth time this season, the Pitt Panthers were named the No. 1 team in the country according to the United Soccer Coaches Poll April 6, 2021.
Pitt earned the number one ranking for five weeks straight in the fall from Oct. 20 to Nov. 17.
The Panthers reclaimed the No. 1 spot after spending the first five weeks in the top-10 during the spring campaign.

THE SERIES – VIRGINIA

Virginia leads the all-time series 7-3-1.
The Panthers are winners of three-straight against the Cavaliers, most recently Oct. 18, 2020 during the fall season. Pitt won, 3-2, in overtime in Charlottesville off a game-winning header by Arturo Ordoñez.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 12-25-6 all-time against Virginia.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS

Virginia enters the contest 7-7-1 overall and 4-6-1 in ACC play. They hold a 1-3-1 ledger away from Chartlottesville.
The Cavaliers are led offensively by sophomore Kevin Ogudugu, who has three goals and one assist on the year. Ogudugu has 18 shots, 12 shots on goal and a .667 shot on goal percentage.
Virginia's midfield presence is led by senior Irakoze Donasiyano, who leads the team in minutes played with 1,407. He has eight shots and three shots on goal for the year.
The Cavaliers enter the match third in the ACC in shot accuracy (.479) and fourth in total goals (19) and total points (53).

POSTSEASON IMPLICATIONS

Thursday's night match against Virginia holds significant implications for Pitt, including a coastal division championship and a postseason matchup with Clemson.
A win against the Cavaliers clinches the Coastal Division Championship and will be the first ACC division championship in program history.
A victory also sets up a date with Clemson April 17 for the automatic qualifying bid out of the ACC. Clemson, who narrowly beat Pitt in the ACC Championship Final in November (2-1), earned the right to the automatic qualifying game with the tournament final victory.

DEFENDING HOME TURF

The Panthers are 4-0 at home this season, including 3-0 record during the spring season.
All three home games during the spring season have been shutouts. Graduate student goalkeeper Nico Campuzano has six saves in those three games.
Pitt has had four home games this year - between the fall and spring seasons - canceled or postponed.

ACC'S NO. 1 SCORING OFFENSE

Pitt enters the Virginia match with the number one scoring offense in the conference with a 2.36 goals per game mark, a number also good for 14th in the nation.
The Panthers have totaled 33 goals this season, which leads the nation. Pitt also leads the country in total points (98) and is second in total assists (32).
Pitt's 7.00 points per game mark and .554 shot accuracy rank first in the conference.
The Panthers have had nine different goal scorers this season and have had 11 different players assist a goal this year.

TOPDRAWERSOCCER HONORS WASHINGTON

Senior Bryce Washington was recognized by TopDrawerSoccer.com April 6 for his performance in Pitt's 2-0 victory vs. Notre Dame at home.
Washington tallied an assist on the Panthers first goal of the game in the 48th minute. The assist was the first of his career.
The Team of the Week nod is the third of the season for the Atlanta, Ga., native.

UP NEXT

The Panthers await the final results from this weekend's ACC action for their next game.
A win for Pitt Thursday night automatically qualifies them for the ACC AQ match Saturday, April 17 at Clemson at 7 PM.