No. 2 Pitt Defeats Monmouth 6-1 in NCAA Second Round

Sunday, May 2

Greensboro, N.C.

8 PM

Pitt

14-3-0, 9-1-0

Monmouth

6-3-1, 2-2-1

Monmouth

Pittsburgh

No. 2 Pitt Defeats Monmouth 6-1 in NCAA Second Round

5/3/2021 12:31:00 AM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Bracket

GREENSBORO, N.C. – The No. 2 overall seed Pitt men's soccer team defeated Monmouth, 6-1, Sunday evening in the NCAA Tournament Second Round at Bryan Park.

Pitt will next play Central Florida in the Third Round Thursday, May 6 at 3 PM at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C.

NEWS & NOTES

The result is the second NCAA Tournament victory in program history. The Panthers defeated Lehigh 2-0 in the first round in 2019.
The Panthers advance to the "Sweet 16" for the first time in program history.
The six goals were a season-high and most since the Panthers defeated Howard 6-0 Oct. 7, 2019.
Pitt totaled 14 points on five different goal scorers and had five assists. Sophomore Veljko Petkovic tallied two assists for the night.
Sophomore Valentin Noel scored his 12^th goal of the season. The ACC Offensive Player of the Year entered the match third in the country with 11 goals scored.
Graduate student goalkeeper Nico Campuzano collected his 14^th win this season, tying a program record for wins in goal in a single season. He registered three saves for the evening.

After a scoreless 24 minutes, Noel recorded the first of six goals for Pitt in the 25^th minute, taking a pass from classmate Raphaël Crivello and chipping the ball from left to right for the goal.

Senior Bryce Washington put the Panthers up 2-0 with a goal in the 39^th minute. Washington received a corner kick cross from Petkovic and headed it in for his fourth of the season. The Panthers led 2-0 at the break.

The Panthers led 8-3 in shots after 45 minutes, while Monmouth (6-3-1) held a 5-3 advantage in corner kicks.

Early in the second half, senior Alexander Dexter put Pitt up 3-0, collecting a deflected shot by Petkovic and finding the back of the net for his sixth of the season. The Panthers led 4-0 in the 57^th minute, as freshman Bertin Jacquesson attempted a cross inside the 18, only for it to be deflected off a Monmouth defender for an own goal.

In the 71^st minute, junior Rodrigo Almeida scored his first goal of the year to give Pitt a 5-0 lead. Graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend earned his eighth assist of the season on the score.
The Hawks scored its lone goal in the 77^th minute, as Julian Gomez converted a penalty kick (5-1).

The Panthers added one more score in the 88^th minute with a penalty kick of their own, as senior Sito Sena converted the PK for his first goal of the year.

"It was a good win tonight," said head coach Jay Vidovich. "Going in I think we were a bit tentative and nervous and the difference was that Monmouth had already experienced the tension and nerves of a game that is do or die. But I think after a little bit we played our way into the game, we competed and defended as a group."

Pitt outshot the Hawks, 16-7, while Monmouth led 8-3 in corner kicks.

The Panthers next face UCF Thursday, May 6 in the NCAA Tournament Third Round. Kick-off begins at 3 PM.