Panthers Ranked No. 4 In Final Top Drawer Soccer Rankings
12/17/2022 2:53:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PITTSBURGH – After another historic season on the pitch, the Pitt men's soccer team (12-5-5, 3-2-3 ACC) closed out the 2022 campaign at No. 4 in Top Drawer Soccer's final rankings. The Panthers have finished in the top-4 in two of the past three seasons.
The Panthers have placed inside the top-10 of Top Drawer Soccer's final rankings in each of the past three seasons while being ranked in the top-25 in 15 of 17 weeks this season.
Entering the NCAA Tournament unranked, the Panthers proved they were one of the best teams in the nation as they collected four wins to earn their second trip to the College Cup in program history. The men's soccer program became the first in Pitt Athletics history to earn two trips to the Final 4 as well as the first to earn three trips to the Elite Eight.
The Panthers earned home victories over Cleveland State and Portland while traveled to No. 1 Kentucky and No. 16 Akron and earned road wins to earn a trip to Cary. For the second time in three seasons, Pitt fell in the National Semifinals to Indiana as the Hoosiers earned the 2-0 victory behind a pair of first half goals.
The Panthers had five players earn All-ACC honors while two earned All-Region recognition and one was named All-American.
Leading the way for Pitt all year long was Valentin Noel who netted a team-high 11 goals, three assists and 25 points to earn All-ACC, All-Region and All-America honors. Noel also recently earned First Team Scholar All-American honors, the first in Pitt program history.
Filip Mirkovic put together his best season of his career as he netted three goals, a program record 12 assists and 18 points while earning First Team All-ACC and First Team All-Region honors. Four-year captain Jackson Walti was a stalwart in the midfield for Pitt once again as he earned All-ACC recognition for the third straight season as he appeared in his 100th career game as a Panther while Bertin Jacquesson missed some time and still earned Second Team All-ACC honors after netting eight goals, five assists and 21 points on the year. Freshman defender Jackson Gilman made a huge impact for Pitt as he was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team after starting all 22 matches and helping Pitt secure eight clean sheets on the year.
As a team, the Panthers offense posted the second most assists (48), third most points (132), fourth most shutouts (8) and sixth most goals (42) in a single season in program history. The 12 wins also marked the fifth most in a single season in program history while Pitt earned the right to host an Elite Eight match at home for the first time ever. The Panthers have also posted at least 10 wins in four straight seasons for the first time in program history.
With the MLS Draft taking place next week (Wednesday, Dec. 21), Pitt is expecting to see a couple players names called to add to the previous five Panthers drafted since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program seven years ago.
The Panthers have placed inside the top-10 of Top Drawer Soccer's final rankings in each of the past three seasons while being ranked in the top-25 in 15 of 17 weeks this season.
Entering the NCAA Tournament unranked, the Panthers proved they were one of the best teams in the nation as they collected four wins to earn their second trip to the College Cup in program history. The men's soccer program became the first in Pitt Athletics history to earn two trips to the Final 4 as well as the first to earn three trips to the Elite Eight.
The Panthers earned home victories over Cleveland State and Portland while traveled to No. 1 Kentucky and No. 16 Akron and earned road wins to earn a trip to Cary. For the second time in three seasons, Pitt fell in the National Semifinals to Indiana as the Hoosiers earned the 2-0 victory behind a pair of first half goals.
The Panthers had five players earn All-ACC honors while two earned All-Region recognition and one was named All-American.
Leading the way for Pitt all year long was Valentin Noel who netted a team-high 11 goals, three assists and 25 points to earn All-ACC, All-Region and All-America honors. Noel also recently earned First Team Scholar All-American honors, the first in Pitt program history.
Filip Mirkovic put together his best season of his career as he netted three goals, a program record 12 assists and 18 points while earning First Team All-ACC and First Team All-Region honors. Four-year captain Jackson Walti was a stalwart in the midfield for Pitt once again as he earned All-ACC recognition for the third straight season as he appeared in his 100th career game as a Panther while Bertin Jacquesson missed some time and still earned Second Team All-ACC honors after netting eight goals, five assists and 21 points on the year. Freshman defender Jackson Gilman made a huge impact for Pitt as he was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team after starting all 22 matches and helping Pitt secure eight clean sheets on the year.
As a team, the Panthers offense posted the second most assists (48), third most points (132), fourth most shutouts (8) and sixth most goals (42) in a single season in program history. The 12 wins also marked the fifth most in a single season in program history while Pitt earned the right to host an Elite Eight match at home for the first time ever. The Panthers have also posted at least 10 wins in four straight seasons for the first time in program history.
With the MLS Draft taking place next week (Wednesday, Dec. 21), Pitt is expecting to see a couple players names called to add to the previous five Panthers drafted since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program seven years ago.
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