No. 7 Pitt Opens 2022 Campaign Thursday Against No. 2 Georgetown

Thursday, August 25

Pittsburgh, Pa.

8 PM

Pitt

#2 Georgetown

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No. 7 Pitt Opens 2022 Campaign Thursday Against No. 2 Georgetown

8/24/2022 6:11:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Live Stats Watch (ACCNX)Match Notes

PITTSBURGH - Coming off of their second straight Elite Eight appearance, the No. 7 Pitt men's soccer team opens up their 2022 campaign Thursday night against No. 2 Georgetown at Ambrose Urbanic Field. First kick is set for 8:00 pm and the game will air live on ACC Network Extra with Kevin Wheeler and David Day on the call.

Thursday's top-10 matchup will be the second game of a doubleheader on the Panthers' home turf as the Pitt women play host to UMass at 5:00 pm in their home opening match.

NEWS & NOTES

August 25 marks the first official day of the NCAA men's college soccer season.
The matchup between No. 7 Pitt and No. 2 Georgetown will be the lone top-10 matchup of the opening week for college men's soccer.
Pitt returns 12 players, including seven starters, from last season's Elite Eight team that posted a 13-5-2 overall record. The Panthers also return their top four scorers from a team that posted program records in points (167) and assists (63).

FOLLOW ALONG

Thursday night's contest will be live on the ACC Network Extra and can be found online HERE.
Live stats for Thursday's game can be found HERE.

THE SERIES – GEORGETOWN

This marks the 29th meeting of all-time between the two teams, first since 2019, with Georgetown owning the 22-6-0 advantage over the Panthers.
The Hoyas have won seven straight games in the series with Pitt's last victory coming in 2006 at home.
Vidovich is 0-1-0 against Georgetown in his coaching career., falling to the Hoyas in the NCAA Tournament Second Round in 2019.

SCOUTING THE HOYAS

Georgetown enters their season opening match ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason poll.
The Hoyas are coming off of a successful 2021 campaign that saw them post a 18-3-1 record as they advanced to the College Cup. They fell 2-1 to Washington in the national semifinal match in Cary, NC.
The 2022 version of the Hoyas will look a lot different as they return just four starters from last seasons squad. Georgetown will be looking to replace Dante Polvara who won the 2021 MAC Hermann Trophy for the Hoyas after scoring seven goals, six assists and 20 points in 22 matches.
Georgetown returns two All-Big East performers from a season ago, defender Daniel Wu and defender Kenny Nielsen. Wu was recently named Big East Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI Third Team.

RECAPPING THE 2021 CAMPAIGN

The Panthers made history once again in 2021 as they advanced to their second straight Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
Pitt finished the season with a 13-5-2 overall record and a 5-2-1 ACC mark. The Panthers fell to Notre Dame in the ACC Semifinals, 2-0, but still earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers had nine players earn All-ACC honors following the 2021 season. Graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend was named Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season while Jay Vidovich was named Coach of the Year for the second straight season and seventh time in his coaching career.
Jasper Löeffelsend became the first player in program history to earn All-America honors twice in a career as he earned United Soccer Coaches Second Team honors after a strong campaign. Löeffelsend and Valentin Noel also earned First Team All-South Region honors, the first time Pitt had multiple first team recipients.
Pitt was ranked each week during the 2021 campaign as they have earned a national ranking in 32 consecutive weeks dating back to 2020.

PITT PICKED AS COASTAL FAVORITES

The Panthers were tabbed by ACC coaches to finish first in the Coastal Division in the ACC Coaches' Preseason Poll for the second straight season.
Pitt garnered six first-place votes in the Coastal Division, a division they have won in back-to-back seasons.
The Panthers also earned two votes to claim the overall ACC title.

PRESEASON ACCOLADES

The tandem of Jackson Walti and Valentin Noel were named to the United Soccer Coaches Midfielder Watch List at the beginning of August. The list consisted of 26 players with Pitt and Campbell being the only two schools to have multiple honorees.
Walti also earned preseason praise by the ACC coaches as he was named to the 2022 ACC Preseason Watch List. He was one of 12 members of the list.
Noel also was named to the College Soccer News Preseason Third Team All-America list, marking his second straight season earning a spot on the preseason list.
The Panthers had three players earn TopDrawerSoccer Preseason Best XI Team recognition. Bertin Jacquesson (forward) and Filip Mirkovic (midfield) earned First Team honors while Valentin Noel (Forward) earned Second Team recognition.

DYNAMIC DUO

The combination of midfielder Valentin Noel and forward Bertin Jacquesson has been deadly for the Panthers over the past two seasons.
The two Frenchmen have combined to score 32 goals for Pitt over the last two seasons. The 32 goals are the most by any returning duo in the ACC over the last two seasons.
Jacquesson led the Panthers in scoring last season as he netted seven goals, 11 assists and 25 points on 43 shots. His 11 assists are tied for the most in a season in program history.
Noel capped his third season as a Panther with seven goals, five assists and 19 points on a team-high 44 shots.
Noel is currently tied for fifth in goals (24) and tied for eighth in points (58) in program history.
Jacquesson is currently tied for third in program history with 18 career assists entering his junior campaign.

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

The Panthers have been one of the best teams in the country on their home turf over the last three seasons as they own a 22-3-1 record at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
Pitt held a 19-match home winning streak from Oct. 7, 2019 to Nov. 10, 2021, which at the time was the longest streak in the ACC and second longest unbeaten streak in the nation.
Head coach Jay Vidovich is 30-16-3 at home in his six seasons at Pitt.
Since the start of the 2019 season, Pitt has outscored its opponents 84-28 at home including a 43-12 advantage last season.

ACC Home Win % Last 3 Seasons
1. Pitt                     24-3-1              .875
2. Clemson             30-3-4              .865
3. Wake Forest        30-5-3              .829
4. BC                      14-2-5              .786
5. Virginia               26-7-3              .764

FRESH FACES

The Panthers will welcome 15 newcomers to the squad for the 2022 campaign, including nine freshmen, two sophomores and four graduate transfers.
The four graduate transfers for the upcoming season all had standout careers at their previous schools.
Defender Yanis Leerman (UCF) was taken in the 4th round of the MLS SuperDraft but decided to transfer to Pitt after starting 17 games and earning Second Team All-AAC honors last season.
Defender Henrique Gallina (USF) appeared in 12 matches and led the Bulls with five goals, three assists and 13 points to go along with 39 shots. An AAC All-Rookie team selection, Gallina appeared in 50 matches at South Florida before transferring.
Midfielder Ideal Shefqeti (FDU) started in 17 matches for the Knights last season and netted two goals, three assists and seven points on 21 shots. A NEC All-Rookie Team selection in 2018, Shefqeti recorded 61 starts and racked up 24 points at Fairleigh Dickinson.
Forward Josh Luchini (Lehigh) comes to Pitt after posting five goals, five assists and 15 points on 40 shots last season while earning Second Team All-Patriot League honors. Luchini is a two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year and earned Third Team All-America honors in 2019 after posting a league-high 11 goals, two assists and 24 points. He has started 57 games across his collegiate career.
Rounding out the newcomers are a pair of sophomores, Mateo Maillefaud (France) and Mathys Lefebvre (France), and nine freshmen, Cabral Carter (Los Angeles, CA), Jackson Gilman (Schwwenksville, PA), Leonardo Andrade (Brazil), Noah Hall (Cincinnati, OH), Abraham Brown (Los Angeles, CA), Mateo Stoka (Weston, FL), Djavid Abdullatif (Germany), Eben McIntyre (Charleroi, PA) and Killian Vallant (Austria).

UP NEXT

The Panthers return to action Monday night at home as they welcome No. 6 West Virginia for the 51^st edition of the men's soccer Backyard Brawl. First kick is set for 7:00 pm and the game will air live on the ACC Network.
Monday's match will be the second straight top-10 opponent the Panthers will face to open their 2022 season.