Pitt
Cleveland State
Women's Soccer Looks to Continue Hot Start at Cleveland State
8/27/2022 2:35:00 PM | Women's Soccer
THE MATCHUP
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's soccer team (3-0-0) looks to keep its perfect start to the 2022 season going as it travels up the turnpike to take on Cleveland State (1-0-2) Sunday. First touch is slated for 1 p.m. at Krenzler Field.
QUITE THE HOMECOMING
Pitt opened the home portion of its 2022 slate by dominating UMass, 6-1, at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The Panthers outshot UMass by a whopping 34-6 margin, with Pitt's 34 shots good for the fourth-most in a single game in program history. Pitt has scored at least six goals in a match three times and has won by at least five goals five times in the last three years.
The Panthers ran out to a 4-0 halftime lead and never looked back as four different Panthers scored goals and four different Panthers dished out assists. Reigning ACC Offensive Player of the Week Amanda West paced Pitt's attack with five points, scoring the second and fifth goals of the match and assisted on the first, which was scored by Emily Yaple. Samiah Phiri scored her first goal as a Panther in her first home game at Pitt. Ashton Gordon made it a 4-0 lead when she converted a penalty kick opportunity. UMass managed to become the first opponent to tally a goal against Pitt in the 51st minute, but Landy Mertz made it a five-goal advantage for the Panthers again when she scored four minutes later.
Yaple accounted for three points in the victory as she returned the favor to West by assisting on West's second goal. Anna Bout also enjoyed a multi-point day, assisting on West's first goal of the match and Mertz's first of the year. Bout's 12 career assists are tied for the fifth-most in program history. Ashley Moon provided the helper on Phiri's goal, the second assist of her career.
The decisive victory saw Pitt utilize the services of 28 players.
STARTING OUT HOT
With its 3-0 start to the 2022 campaign, the Panthers have come storming out of the gate each of the last three seasons. Pitt won its first six games of the season in 2020, then rattled off five straight wins to begin the '21 regular season. Pitt has not lost a game in the month of August since a 2-1 setback at Dartmouth on Aug. 30, 2019.
WEST THE BEST TO WEAR BLUE & GOLD
Senior forward Amanda West is the undisputed most decorated player in the history of Pitt women's soccer.
West leads the program in multiple career statistical categories: points (94), points per game (1.96), goals (37), goals per game (0.77), overtime goals (four), penalty kick goals (10), game-winning goals (15) and career three-plus point games (14). She is the leading active goal scorer among ACC players with 37 career goals and is the nation's active career leader in points per game. West is also currently tied with Roosa Arvas (2012-15) as Pitt's all-time leader with 20 career assists.
West 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 63rd 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).
LAZZ LOCKS IT DOWN
Caitlyn Lazzarini takes a clean sheet of 225 minutes this season into Sunday's match at Cleveland State as Pitt's starting goalkeeper after shutting out UMass in the first half, making two saves in 45 minutes of work.
MAKING THEIR DEBUTS
Five Panthers made their Pitt debuts in the home opener against UMass, including sophomore transfer Keera Melenhorst and freshmen Ellie Breech, Margaret Wilde, Keely Brown and Misa Kasparcova.
SCOUTING CLEVELAND STATE
Pitt matches up with Cleveland State for the second time in program history and second year in a row. The Panthers and Vikings squared off on Aug. 26, 2021, with Pitt recording a 5-0 shutout win at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Sarah Schupansky tallied a career-high two goals off the bench while Amanda West, Emily Yaple and Bri Hilsenteger each found the back of the net once.
The Vikings are undefeated so far this season, laying claim to one win and two ties. Cleveland State notched its first shutout of the year on Thursday by blanking Saint Joseph's by a 5-0 count, led by a two-goal effort from freshman Mayra Sesmas.
Dallas Boyer has guided Cleveland State to 38 wins in his six seasons as head coach, posting two winning seasons.
Cleveland State sported an overall record of 6-11-2 overall in 2021, but the Vikings finished last season strong by going 3-01 over its final four contests to earn a spot in the Horizon League tournament for the first time since 2019. During the stretch, the Vikings didn't allow a goal for 458 minutes, recording four straight shutouts.
UP NEXT
Pitt takes on the second of three-straight opponents from the state of Ohio and opens a two-game homestand as Kent State comes to town Wednesday for a 7 p.m. tilt at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The game will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. Tickets can be purchased online in advance for $5 per game or purchased on gameday for $8 at the Petersen Sports Complex Ticket Office.
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