No. 3 Pitt Begins 2021 Campaign at Home vs. Duquesne

Thursday, August 26

Pittsburgh, Pa.

8 PM

Pitt

Duquesne

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Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

No. 3 Pitt Begins 2021 Campaign at Home vs. Duquesne

8/25/2021 3:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer

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PITTSBURGH – Three and a half months after playing in its first ever College Cup, the No. 3 Pitt men's soccer team is set to begin the 2021 regular season at home against Duquesne Thursday evening.

NEWS & NOTES

August 26 marks the first official day of the NCAA men's college soccer season.
Pitt and Duquesne meet for the second time in seven months, as the Panthers recently defeated the Dukes 1-0 Feb. 27, 2021.
The Panthers return 20 players, including 10 starters, from last year's squad that finished a school record 16-4 overall and 9-1 in ACC play. Pitt won its first ever Coastal Division title and earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament en-route to its first ever College Cup appearance.
Ambrose Urbanic Field is open to the public, with tickets season ticket and single-game tickets available here.

FOLLOW ALONG

Thursday night's contest will be live on the ACC Network and can be found online here.
For live stats, click here.

THE SERIES – DUQUESNE

Pitt leads the all-time series 8-0-2 and is currently on a three-match winning streak.
The Panthers opened the 2021 spring season with a 1-0 home victory over the Dukes Feb. 27. Prior to last season's meeting, the two Pittsburgh schools had not met since 2012.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 1-0-0 against Duquesne, with last year's meeting his first against the University.

SCOUTING THE DUKES

Duquesne finished the 2020-21 season 2-5 overall and 2-4 in A-10 play. Prior to the shortened 2020-21 season last year, the Dukes finished 8-8-1 in 2019.
Duquesne was picked to finish tied for 10th in the A-10 preseason poll.
Sophomore M/F Nate Dragisich and freshman Maxi Hopfer return after garnering All-Rookie Atlantic 10 honors in 2019 and 2020, respectively. Both players tallied four points last year, with Hopfer leading the team in goals with two.

RECAPPING A HISTORIC 2020-21

The Pitt men's soccer program endured its best season in program history last year, highlighted by an ACC Coastal Division Championship and a trip to the College Cup for the first time ever.
The Panthers finished 16-4 overall and 9-1 in ACC play - both program records for wins in a single-season - and earned the No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Pitt had a program best 14 ACC postseason awards, including Offensive Player of the Year (Valentin Noel), Defensive Player of the Year (Jasper Löeffelsend), Freshman of the Year (Bertin Jacquesson) and Coach of the Year (Jay Vidovich).
The Panthers produced their first All-Americans in school history in Noel and Löeffelsend. Noel was named First Team All-America by United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News, while Löeffelsend garnered Second Team All-America from both outlets.
In addition to total and conference wins, Pitt set new single-season school records in total points (142) and assists (44).
Pitt was ranked No. 1 in the country by the United Soccer Coaches Poll for the first time in program history Oct. 20, 2020. Men's Soccer became the third Pitt athletics program in school history to be named No. 1 in its respective sports' poll, joining football and men's basketball.

NOEL MAKING NOISE

Junior midfielder Valentin Noel had one of the best single-season performances in Pitt men's soccer history a year ago.
He finished second in the nation in goals (14), third in points (30), 13th in goals per game (.74) and 23rd in points per game (1.58).
The Niort, France, native scored eight goals and tallied two assists during the fall campaign and finished with six goals during the spring. He registered three multi-goal games in total last year.
His total goal and point totals each finished tied for fifth in a single-season at Pitt.
Noel earned a plethora of accolades, including United Soccer Coaches and College Soccer News First Team All-America, becoming the first First Team All-American in program history. He was also named United Soccer Coaches South All-Region First Team, ACC Offensive Player of the Year, All-ACC First Team and All-ACC Tournament Team.
Noel was invited to the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy presentation in St. Louis, Mo., as a finalist for the MAC Hermann award, given to men's and women's soccer's national player of the year.

COLLEGE SOCCER NEWS PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

Valentin Noel and Jasper Löeffelsend were named to College Soccer News' Preseason All-America Team.
Noel earned a spot on the First Team, while Löeffelsend received Second Team recognition.
Both Noel (First) and Löeffelsend (Second) earned 2020-21 College Soccer News All-America honors.

PITT PICKED AS FAVORITES

The Panthers were chosen by ACC coaches to finish first in the Coastal Division and first overall in the ACC Coaches' Preseason Poll.
Pitt garnered seven first-place votes to win the ACC Championship, surpassing reigning champion Clemson and 2020 College Cup participant North Carolina, who tallied three and two first-place votes, respectively.
The Panthers received nine first-place votes in the Coastal Division, a division they won last year for the first time in program history.

TWENTY PLAYERS RETURN

Twenty players, including 10 starters, return for a Pitt team that finished with the fifth best scoring offense in the country.
A notable returner is Alexander Dexter, who begins his fifth and final campaign as a Panther. Dexter began his career as a freshman in 2017 and has since totaled 18 assists, ranking him second in school history.
Recent Pitt graduate Bryce Washington, who was a key piece to Pitt's back line last season, signed a homegrown contract with Atlanta United this summer and is currently playing for Atlanta II.

FRESH FACES

Eight new players join the Panthers in 2021, including five freshmen, two juniors and a graduate student.
Transfer students Lucas Rosa and Mohammad Abualnadi join the squad after standout seasons at their former schools. Rosa was named NEC Player of the Year and College Soccer News Third Team All-America in 2019 after leading Saint Francis with 11 goals and two assists. Abualnadi joins after helping Notre Dame earn a top-five ranking last season as a centerback.
Junior Joe van der Sar adds depth to the goalkeeper position. van der Sar played for AFC Ajax's highest youth division prior to Pitt.
Rounding out the newcomers are freshmen Guilherme Feitosa (Salvador, Brazil), Cade Hagan (Chicago, Ill.), Andrew Noel (Montclair, N.J.), Luis Sahmkow (Richardson, Texas) and Michael Sullivan (Tarentum, Pa.).

PITT RANKED NO. 3 IN PRE-SEASON POLL

The Panthers enter the 2021 season ranked No. 3 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll, the highest preseason rank in program history.
Pitt was ranked in the top-10 in every poll last season and earned as high as No. 1 Oct, 20, 2020.
The preseason poll marks the 20th straight week the Panthers have been ranked.

UP NEXT

Pitt hits the road for the first time this season Monday, Aug. 30 to Morgantown, W. Va., to take on West Virginia.
Start time is set for 7 PM with live coverage on ESPN+.