Wednesday, November 2
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7:00 pm
Pitt
8-3-5, 3-2-3
4
vs
1
NC State
6-7-4, 1-5-2
1
2
3
4
F
NC State
1
0
0
0
1
Pittsburgh
1
0
1
2
4
Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics
Pitt Surges Past NC State In Double OT, 4-1; Advances To ACC Quarterfinals Sunday
11/2/2022 10:27:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PITTSBURGH – Behind a brace by sophomore Michael Sullivan, the No. 6 seed Pitt Men's Soccer team (8-3-5, 3-2-3 ACC) pulled away late Wednesday night in front of their home fans at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the ACC Championship First Round as they earned a 4-1 double overtime victory over No. 11 seed NC State.
The Panthers and Wolfpack were knotted, 1-1, at the end of regulation and they went on to play two 10 minute overtime periods per new NCAA rules. Pitt controlled most of the play over the final 20 minutes as they netted three goals to earn the home win.
With the win, Pitt advances to the ACC Championship Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm against No. 3 seed Virginia. The Panthers earned a win in the ACC Championship for the fifth straight year and will travel to Virginia with another trip to the semifinals on the line.
The Panthers got on the board early on against the Wolfpack Wednesday night as Michael Sullivan buried his second of the season. Filip Mirkovic sent a great long ball down the right flank where Lucas Rosa collected the ball and crossed it into the box where Sullivan ripped a shot past the keeper and under the cross bar to give Pitt the 1-0 lead.
Bertin Jacquesson had a great chance to double the lead for Pitt just three minutes later but his hard left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved by the NC State keeper and cleared out by the Wolfpack defense.
NC State leveled the match in the 26th minute as Luke Hille collected the loose ball at the top of the box after a corner and buried a low hard shot into the right corner of the Pitt goal.
Pitt had one final chance to break the tie in the 39th minute as Rosa found Valentin Noel in the middle of the box but his hard right-footed shot rang off the cross bar and was cleared away by the Wolfpack defense to send the game to half knotted, 1-1.
The second half was slow-paced as neither team had good opportunities to break the tie. In the 73rd minute, Jacquesson had a decent look at the go-ahead goal but his hard low shot went just left of the net. The Wolfpack had a shot from distance just over five minutes later but Joe van der Sar calmly scooped up the low shot.
Pitt opened the first overtime with some pressure and they we rewarded with the eventual game-winning goal in the 92nd minute. Mirkovic sent a perfect corner into the box where Sullivan finished off his second goal of the night with a lunging header to beat the NC State keeper to the left corner.
After holding the Wolfpack to no shots in the first overtime, the Panthers added to their lead over the final 10 minutes. In the 105th minute, Noel earned a steal as the Wolfpack keeper tried to hit his defender and he calmly buried the ball into the wide open net for his seventh of the season.
In the final minute of action, graduate senior captain Jackson Walti buried his second goal of the season as he came streaking in and beat the keeper to the left corner of the net. Noah Hall and Ideal Shefqeti earned the assists on Walti's second of the season.
For the match, Pitt held the dominant 19-9 edge in shots and the 7-4 lead in corner kicks. van der Sar finished off his night making four stops in the win while his counterpart made four saves in the losing effort for NC State.
The Panthers will now head to Charlottesville, VA on Sunday to take on the No. 3 seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Championship Quarterfinals. First kick Sunday is set for 4:00 pm and the match will air on ACC Network.
NOTES
*** With the win, Pitt improves to 5-3-1 all-time against NC State and have now won four straight against the Wolfpack
*** Pitt is now 2-0 all-time against NC State in the ACC Championship
*** Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich improves to 24-3-2 all-time against the Wolfpack
*** This marks the fifth straight season with win in ACC Championship for the Panthers
*** Pitt is now 30-4-5 at home since 2019, the 8th best mark in the NCAA over the stretch
*** With his two assists on Wednesday, junior Filip Mirkovic has set the Pitt program record for assists in a single season with 12. He also moved into fourth all-time in Pitt history with 19 career assists.
*** With his goal in the second overtime, senior Valentin Noel moved into a tie for second in program history with 31 career goals. He is currently tied with former teammate Edward Kizza.
*** Noel ranks third in program history in career points with 75, sitting nine shy of the program record for points in a career
*** Sophomore Michael Sullivan netted his first career two-goal game and his third career multi-point effort
*** With his goal in the second overtime, Jackson Walti now has a career-high two goals and four points on the year
*** Noah Hall notched his first career assist on Walti's goal while Ideal Shefqeti picked up his first assist as a Panther on the same goal
The Panthers and Wolfpack were knotted, 1-1, at the end of regulation and they went on to play two 10 minute overtime periods per new NCAA rules. Pitt controlled most of the play over the final 20 minutes as they netted three goals to earn the home win.
With the win, Pitt advances to the ACC Championship Quarterfinals on Sunday afternoon at 4:00 pm against No. 3 seed Virginia. The Panthers earned a win in the ACC Championship for the fifth straight year and will travel to Virginia with another trip to the semifinals on the line.
The Panthers got on the board early on against the Wolfpack Wednesday night as Michael Sullivan buried his second of the season. Filip Mirkovic sent a great long ball down the right flank where Lucas Rosa collected the ball and crossed it into the box where Sullivan ripped a shot past the keeper and under the cross bar to give Pitt the 1-0 lead.
Bertin Jacquesson had a great chance to double the lead for Pitt just three minutes later but his hard left-footed shot from the left side of the box was saved by the NC State keeper and cleared out by the Wolfpack defense.
NC State leveled the match in the 26th minute as Luke Hille collected the loose ball at the top of the box after a corner and buried a low hard shot into the right corner of the Pitt goal.
Pitt had one final chance to break the tie in the 39th minute as Rosa found Valentin Noel in the middle of the box but his hard right-footed shot rang off the cross bar and was cleared away by the Wolfpack defense to send the game to half knotted, 1-1.
The second half was slow-paced as neither team had good opportunities to break the tie. In the 73rd minute, Jacquesson had a decent look at the go-ahead goal but his hard low shot went just left of the net. The Wolfpack had a shot from distance just over five minutes later but Joe van der Sar calmly scooped up the low shot.
Pitt opened the first overtime with some pressure and they we rewarded with the eventual game-winning goal in the 92nd minute. Mirkovic sent a perfect corner into the box where Sullivan finished off his second goal of the night with a lunging header to beat the NC State keeper to the left corner.
After holding the Wolfpack to no shots in the first overtime, the Panthers added to their lead over the final 10 minutes. In the 105th minute, Noel earned a steal as the Wolfpack keeper tried to hit his defender and he calmly buried the ball into the wide open net for his seventh of the season.
In the final minute of action, graduate senior captain Jackson Walti buried his second goal of the season as he came streaking in and beat the keeper to the left corner of the net. Noah Hall and Ideal Shefqeti earned the assists on Walti's second of the season.
For the match, Pitt held the dominant 19-9 edge in shots and the 7-4 lead in corner kicks. van der Sar finished off his night making four stops in the win while his counterpart made four saves in the losing effort for NC State.
The Panthers will now head to Charlottesville, VA on Sunday to take on the No. 3 seeded Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Championship Quarterfinals. First kick Sunday is set for 4:00 pm and the match will air on ACC Network.
NOTES
*** With the win, Pitt improves to 5-3-1 all-time against NC State and have now won four straight against the Wolfpack
*** Pitt is now 2-0 all-time against NC State in the ACC Championship
*** Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich improves to 24-3-2 all-time against the Wolfpack
*** This marks the fifth straight season with win in ACC Championship for the Panthers
*** Pitt is now 30-4-5 at home since 2019, the 8th best mark in the NCAA over the stretch
*** With his two assists on Wednesday, junior Filip Mirkovic has set the Pitt program record for assists in a single season with 12. He also moved into fourth all-time in Pitt history with 19 career assists.
*** With his goal in the second overtime, senior Valentin Noel moved into a tie for second in program history with 31 career goals. He is currently tied with former teammate Edward Kizza.
*** Noel ranks third in program history in career points with 75, sitting nine shy of the program record for points in a career
*** Sophomore Michael Sullivan netted his first career two-goal game and his third career multi-point effort
*** With his goal in the second overtime, Jackson Walti now has a career-high two goals and four points on the year
*** Noah Hall notched his first career assist on Walti's goal while Ideal Shefqeti picked up his first assist as a Panther on the same goal
Team Stats
NCS
PIT
Goals
1
4
Shots
9
19
Shots on Goal
5
8
Saves
4
4
Corners
4
7
Fouls
14
8
Scoring Plays
Michael Sullivan (3)
Assisted By: Lucas Rosa , Filip Mirkovic
GOAL by PIT Sullivan, Michael Assist by Rosa, Lucas and Mirkovic, Filip.
11:35
Luke Hille (3)
GOAL by NCS Hille, Luke.
25:47
Michael Sullivan (3)
Assisted By: Filip Mirkovic
GOAL by PIT Sullivan, Michael Assist by Mirkovic, Filip.
91:07
Valentin Noel (7)
GOAL by PIT Noel, Valentin.
105:20
Jackson Walti (2)
Assisted By: Noah Hall , Ideal Shefqeti
GOAL by PIT Walti, Jackson Assist by Hall, Noah and Shefqeti, Ideal.
109:28
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
2
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