No. 3 Pitt Begins Road Schedule at West Virginia Monday

PITTSBURGH – The No. 3 Pitt men's soccer team embarks on its first road contest of the 2021 season with the 50^th edition of the men's soccer Backyard Brawl at West Virginia Monday evening.

FOLLOW ALONG

Kick-off is set for 7 p.m. at Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium in Morgantown, W. Va.
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THE BACKYARD BRAWL – 50^TH EDITION

West Virginia leads the all-time series 34-10-5.
The Mountaineers won the last Backyard Brawl, 2-1, Oct. 23, 2018 in Morgantown.
Current graduate student Alexander Dexter scored Pitt's lone goal, assisted by current senior Rodrigo Almeida.
Monday marks the 50th edition of the Backyard Brawl.
Pitt last won Sept. 26, 2017 at home with a 7-0 shutout. The win was the first of the series for the Panthers since 2000.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

West Virginia enters the match 1-0 as it defeated Robert Morris 2-0 on the road Thursday.
The Mountaineers return 15 letterwinners from a team that finished 6-3-1 a year ago. Headlining the returnees is senior goalkeeper Steven Tekesky, senior Ike Swiger and junior Luke McCormick, all of who All-MAC First Team last season.
West Virginia as a team finished seventh in the country in shot accuracy a year ago with .532 mark.
Tekesky finished sixth in the nation in shutouts (six) and 15th in save percentage (.838) a year ago.

PITT OPENS SEASON WITH 7-0 SHUTOUT

The Panthers opened the 2021 campaign with a 7-0 shutout victory over Duquesne at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
The seven goals were the most since Pitt's seven in a shutout victory against West Virginia at home Sept. 26, 2017.
Six different Panthers scored while six assists were tallied. Veljko Petkovic recorded two goals and two assists, while Luke Mort registered two assists.

PETKOVIC PRECISION

Junior midfielder Veljko Petkovic began the 2021 season with a career night against Duquesne at home, scoring two goals and tallying two assists for a career-high six points in Pitt's 7-0 victory.
Petkovic scored two goals midway through the first half one minute and eight seconds apart, setting a school record for fastest consecutive goals scored by the same player.
The Queens, N.Y., native was named TopDrawerSoccer's Player of the Year last season and was named to its Pre-Season Best XI First Team.

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.
Noel scored one goal and recorded one assists in Pitt's season-opening 7-0 shutout of Duquesne Aug. 26.

UP NEXT

The Panthers return home Friday, Sept. 3 for a 7 PM kick-off against Lehigh.
It is a re-match of Pitt's first ever NCAA Tournament game, a match in which the Panthers won 2-0 at home Nov. 21, 2019.
Live coverage can be found on ACCNX.