Women's Soccer Set to Open 2022 Season Against Gonzaga at Rumble in the Rockies

Thursday, August 18

Missoula, MT

3:00pm

Pitt

Gonzaga University

Photo by: Matt Hawley/Pitt Athletics

Women's Soccer Set to Open 2022 Season Against Gonzaga at Rumble in the Rockies

8/17/2022 5:02:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Live Stats ESPN+

PITTSBURGH — The Pitt women's soccer program kicks off its 27th season Thursday at 3 p.m. (ET) with a matchup against Gonzaga in the opening game of the Rumble in the Rockies at South Campus Stadium in Missoula, Mont. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+.

NO FIRST GAME JITTERS
Pitt is a perfect 4-0 in season openers under head coach Randy Waldrum and has come away victorious in each of its last five lid lifters dating back to 2017 when the Panthers blanked Hofstra, 1-0. The Panthers defeated Ohio, 2-1, in Waldrum's debut in 2018, topped Loyola Marymount, 5-4, in 2019, shut out App State, 4-0, on the road in 2020 and toppled Tulsa, 3-0, in the BancFirst Cowgirl Soccer Invitational in Stillwater, Okla., last year.

The Panthers sport a 16-7-3 record in season openers dating back to the program's inaugural season in 1996.

A LOOK BACK AT 2021
The Panthers enjoyed their second-straight 11-win season in 2021 as Pitt finished 11-7 overall with a 4-6 ACC mark. Pitt posted victories in each of its first five games for the second year in a row. With 12 ACC points, Pitt finished a program-best in the league standings by tying for ninth place. The Panthers also tied the school record for single season wins set in 2021 as well as ACC wins set in '15. Pitt tallied its first victory over a ranked opponent since 2008 when it edged host Oklahoma State in overtime, 3-2, at the BancFirst Cowgirl Soccer Invitational in Stillwater, Okla.

Pitt boasted a high-powered attack last season, outscoring the competition by a 41-22 count. The team broke the single-season school records in points (129), points per match (7.17), goals (41), assists (47), assists per game (2.61), shots (319) and shots per game (17.7). In its 11 victories, Pitt scored three or more goals eight times and tallied five or more three times, including a 7-0 rout of Saint Francis.

Pitt also excelled academically as a school-record six Panthers were named to the All-ACC Academic Women's Soccer Team, including Amanda West, Kate McCay, Landy Mertz, Athalie Palomo, Sarah Schupansky and Emily Yaple.

PANTHERS LED BY ONE OF BEST TO EVER DO IT
Pitt is fortunate to be led by one of the best to ever roam the sidelines in women's collegiate soccer in head coach Randy Waldrum The legendary women's soccer coach ranks 10th in NCAA Division I history in career head coaching victories (431) and 16th across all NCAA divisions while also ranking sixth among active NCAA Division I head coaches.

Waldrum has engineered a massive turnaround for the Pitt women's soccer program, with the Panthers posting their best two-year stretch in program history with a 22-12 overall record which has included seven ACC victories, which is good for the best two-year stretch since the program joined the ACC prior to the 2013 campaign. In the two seasons prior to his appointment as the fourth head coach in program history on Dec. 19, 2017, the Panthers had managed just a 5-27-4 overall record with a 1-18-1 ACC record.

Prior to arriving at Pitt, Waldrum saw unprecedented success in his tenure at the helm of the perennial powerhouse Notre Dame women's program. In his 14 seasons, he led the Fighting Irish to two national championships, capturing the College Cup title in 2004 and '10. His teams won eight Big East Tournament titles and appeared in eight NCAA Final Four games in that span. A two-time national coach of the year (2009 by Soccer America; '10 by NSCAA), Waldrum was the first coach in NCAA history to lead a team to a national title in his/her first season with a program. He wrapped up his tenure at Notre Dame with a mark of 292-58-17 (.819). Waldrum joined the Fighting Irish after beginning a program at Baylor, building the Bears into a threat in the Big 12 from scratch. In three seasons with Baylor, Waldrum guided the Bears to an overall mark of 46-14-3 after spending 1995-96 starting up the program. He was named the Big 12 and NSCAA Region Coach of the Year after a 15-5-1 record in 1998, as the Bears reached as high as 12th in the nation en route to a Big 12 Conference title. Prior to his tenure at Baylor, Waldrum spent six seasons at the helm of the Tulsa program, serving as head coach for both the men's and women's programs from 1989-94. He led the men to a record of 66-33-6 and the women to a mark of 61-36-9.

Waldrum was appointed the head coach of the Nigeria Women's Senior National Team, the Super Falcons, on Oct. 5, 2020, a role he serves in addition to his coaching role at Pitt. He followed up his successful fourth season as head coach of the Panthers in 2021 by guiding Nigeria to a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the African Women's World Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament in Casablanca in July 2022. The victory allowed the Super Falcons to secure one of four spots for the African nations in the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. When Niagara plays in the 2023 Women's World Cup, Waldrum will join North Carolina's Anson Dorrance as the only active Division I Women's Soccer head coaches to lead a team into the World Cup.

CONTINUITY ON COACHING STAFF
Head coach Randy Waldrum is joined by associate head coach Ben Waldrum and assistant coach Dustin Stein, with the trio all returning to Pitt for a fifth season in 2022. Volunteer assistant Jesse Goleman is also back for a second year with the Panthers.

WEST THE BEST TO WEAR BLUE & GOLD
Forward Amanda West enters her senior season as the undisputed most decorated player in the history of Pitt women's soccer.

West leads the program in multiple career statistical categories: points (85), points per game (1.89), goals (33), goals per game (0.73), overtime goals (four), penalty kick goals (10), game-winning goals (13) and career three-plus point games (13). She is the leading active goal scorer among ACC players with 33 career goals. She has been named to the United Soccer Coaches' All-Atlantic Region Second Team (2020-21) and Third Team (2019 and '21), becoming the second Panther ever to receive all-region honors, and has been selected to the All-ACC Second Team (2020) and Third Team (2019 and '21), becoming the first player in program history to receive All-ACC honors by being named to the third and all-freshman teams in her 2019 rookie season.

Despite battling injuries a season ago, West ranked 17th in the nation in game-winning goals (5) and 63^rd in goals (10) and ranked third in the ACC in game-winning goals, fourth in shots per game (3.30), tied for eighth in goals (10) and tied for 10th in points (23).

FRESHMAN PHENOM
Forward Sarah Schupansky exploded onto the scene as a freshman for the Panthers in 2021, a season in which she finished second on the team in points (20), goals (seven) and assists (six) while leading the team in shots (48) and tying for the team lead in shots on goal (17). Two of her goals were game winners, which tied for second on the squad. Her 1.11 points per game tied for ninth in the ACC.

BULK OF SCORING BACK
The Panthers return 82 percent of its points scored from a season ago. In addition to Amanda West and Sarah Schupansky, three other double-digit point scorers return for Pitt in 2022: senior midfielder Landy Mertz (11 points; two goals, seven assists), senior forward Leah Pais (11 points; 4 goals, 3 assists) and junior midfielder Emily Yaple (11 points; 5 goals, 1 assist). Mertz's seven assists led the team and tied for the third-most in a single season in program history. Senior midfielder Anna Bout (2 goals, 5 assists) and sophomore midfielder Ellie Coffield (2 goals, 5 assists) are also back after each registered nine points a season ago.

PUTTING IN THE TIME
Senior defender Athalie Palomo has registered 4,112 minutes played across her three previous seasons as a Panther, which ranks as the 11th-most in program history. She has started all 51 games she's played in, logging 10 points off of two goals and six assists.

NEW BEGINNINGS IN PITTSBURGH FOR TWO BIG 12 TRANSFERS
Pitt added a pair of Big 12 sophomore transfers to its roster in forward Samiah Phiri and midfielder Keera Melenhorst.

As a freshman, Phiri finished tied for fourth on the Oklahoma State squad in points with six, scoring two goals and tallying two assists. Melenhorst played in all 20 games for Oklahoma in her rookie season, making 16 starts and totaling 13 shots and five shots on goal while tallying two assists in 1,152 minutes played.

FRESH FACES
Pitt's roster will feature nine freshmen in 2022: goalkeeper Ellie Breech, defender Haylee Mersereau, midfielder Fleming Dean, midfielder Paige Califf, defender Katie Zailski, forward Margaret Wilde, midfielder Briana Rodriguez, defender Keely Brown and midfielder Misa Kasparcova.

KEY DEPARTURES
Pitt lost a pair of starters from its 2021 squad in defender Kate McCay and goalkeeper Katherine Robinson. McKay started 17 of 18 games, logging one goal. Robinson made 15 starts in goal, compiling 61 saves (.772 save percentage) while allowing 1.32 goals per game.

The Panthers also lost a key reserve in forward Emily Harrigan, who appeared in 16 games a season ago and logged seven points off of two goals and three assists.

REPRESENTING AROUND THE WORLD
Pitt has been well represented by its student-athletes on soccer's world stage since the 2021 season concluded.

Amanda West was selected to the Canada Women's National Team Training Camp for the November FIFA Window last November. Chantelle Parker was selected to Jamaica's National Team for the 2022 CONCACAF Women's U-20 Championship in February. Chloe Minas and Keera Melenhorst were tabbed to participate in the Canada Soccer Women's National Team Program U-20 Camp in July, with Melenhorst being selected to the team and competing in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup Costa Rica 2022 earlier this month.

OUR HOME AND NATIVE LAND
The Panthers boast six Canadians on their 2022 roster: Leah Pais (Mississauga, Ontario), Amanda West (Burlington, Ontario), Anna Bout (Cambridge, Ontario), Chloe Minas (Montreal, Quebec), Keera Melenhorst (Ottawa, Ontario) and Chantelle Parker (Milton, Ontario).

WE'VE BEEN EVERYWHERE
Pitt's 2022 roster is made up of student-athletes from 11 different states, with Pennsylvania leading the pack with 12 Panthers: Ellie Breech (Mechanicsburg), Caitlyn Lazzarini (Nazareth), Mackenzie Edwards (Jamison), Ellie Coffield (Mars), Sarah Schupansky (Pittsburgh), Landy Mertz (Pittsburgh), Emily Yaple (Erie), Elena Hinkson (Mechanicsburg), Krystyna Rytel (Pittsburgh), Margaret Wilde (Lower Gwyneed), Mackenize Evers (Oakdale) and Misa Kasparcova (Collegeville).

Four Texans are on the Pitt roster this year, with Hailey Davidson (Prosper), Bri Hilsenteger (Austin), Athalie Palomo (Irving) and Samiah Phiri (Irving) all hailing from the Lonestar State.

New Jersey and New York are represented by two Panthers apiece. Haley Schmidt (Franklin Lakes) and Gabriella Neibart (Morristown) both come from the Garden State while Ashley Moon (Somers) and Maddie Keister (Le Roy) are natives of the Empire State.

Seven other states each lay claim to one Panther: California (Paige Califf), Colorado (Keely Brown), Florida (Haylee Mersereau), Georgia (Fleming Dean), Illinois (Briana Rodriguez), Oklahoma (Ashton Gordon) and South Carolina (Katie Zailski).

SCOUTING GONZAGA
Pitt and Gonzaga are set to meet on the pitch for the first time on Thursday.

Gonzaga won a program record 15 matches last season with only five losses. The Bulldogs had 12 shutouts, breaking the program record previously set in 2005. GU set the program single season records for most goals (47), assists (39), points (131), shots (387) and shots on goal (196). The Zags were fifth in the nation averaging 9.80 shots on goal per game and ninth taking 19.35 shots per game. On the defensive side, GU's 0.600 shutout percentage ranks fourth.

Senior forward Erin Healy was named Second Team All-West Region and First Team All-WCC in 2021. She was eighth in the WCC with eight goals last season and 10th in points with 17.

CATCH US ON TV
Pitt has a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference home games selected to be broadcasted on the ACC Network (ACCN) in 2022.

Both of Pitt's linear TV appearances will take place at Ambrose Urbanic Field, with the September 22nd matchup against Miami and the October 20th showdown against Syracuse set to be showcased on ACCN. The Panthers posted road wins over both the Hurricanes (2-0, September 26) and the Orange (4-2, October 18) in 2021.

GET YOUR TICKETS
Season tickets are still available for only $40 while single game and group ticket packages are also on sale. Tickets can be purchased online here. Pitt will play the first of nine home regular season contests at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Thursday, August 25 when it hosts UMass for a 5 p.m. tilt.

UP NEXT
Pitt closes out the Rumble in the Rockies and its trip to Missoula when it takes on host Montana on Sunday at 6 p.m. (ET).

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