No. 10 Pitt Hosts No. 14 Akron Monday Night For Top-15 Showdown

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt men's soccer team (5-1-0, 2-0-0 ACC) will be looking for their fourth straight victory Monday night as they welcome No. 14 Akron (4-1-1, 0-0-0 MAC) to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a non-conference clash. Monday's Top-15 matchup will kick at 7:00 pm and air live on ACC Network Extra.

FOLLOW ALONG

Monday night's contest will be live on ACC Network Extra and can be found online HERE.
Live stats for Monday's game can be found HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will also be posted on Twitter by following the Pitt men's soccer account @Pitt_MSOC.

THE SERIES – AKRON

This meeting marks the 30th all-time between the two programs with the Zips owning the 19-8-2 advantage in the series.
Akron won the last game in the series in 2021 by the score of 2-1 at home.
Pitt's last win in the series came in 2019 at home as they downed the Zips 1-0.
Akron holds the 9-6-1 edge in the series in games played in Pittsburgh.
The first meeting in the all-time series came in 1957 as Pitt earned a 2-1 home victory.

SCOUTING THE ZIPS

Akron comes into Monday's match with a 4-1-1 overall recrod after drawing #22 Ohio State, 3-3, last time out. The Zips are ranked No. 14 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Top-25 Poll.
The Zips have one of the most potent offensive attacks in the country as they are averaging 3.0 goals per game through six matches. Leading the way offensively is Jason Skokalook who has netted four goals, two assists and 10 points while collecting 11 shots.
Johnny Fitzgerald and Dyson Clapier rank second on the team with six points each while Josef Paulus leads the squad with three assists on the year.
In goal, Mitch Budler has started all six matches and owns 1.67 goals-against average while notching one cleansheet.

VIDOVICH BECOMES FIRST ACC MEN'S SOCCER COACH TO RECORD 100 ACC WINS

The Panthers have become one of the most respected and successful programs in the country over the last couple years thanks to head coach Jay Vidovich and his staff.
He has posted a career coaching record of 334-172-58 (.644). His 334 career coaching wins are 13th among active D1 head coaches.
With the win over NC State Friday night, Vidovich became the first head coach in ACC history to collect 100 regular season conference wins. He currently owns a 100-76-26 (.559) record in ACC matches.
Vidovich is one of the most decorated coaches in the NCAA as he earned one national title (2007, Wake Forest) while earning two NSCAA National Coach of the Year awards (2007, 2008) and seven ACC Coach of the Year awards (2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2020, 2021).

FACING RANKED OPPONENTS

The Panthers are no stranger to nationally ranked opponents. Akron will be the fourth ranked opponent Pitt has faced this season after they opened the year with three straight ranked foes for the first time in program history.
Pitt opened the season with back-to-back wins over top-10 programs for the first time in program history as they downed No. 2 Georgetown 2-1 and No. 6 West Virginia 3-0.
Pitt is 4-0-1 against top-5 opponents over the last two seasons as they downed Georgetown (No. 2), Clemson (No. 2), Duke (No. 3) and North Carolina (No. 4) during the regular season and tied Notre Dame (No. 4) in the Elite Eight last season.
Overall, Pitt is 6-1-1 against nationally ranked foes over the last two seasons.
Over the last three seasons, Pitt owns a 10-4-1 record against ranked opponents.

VAN DER SAR EXTENDS SHUTOUT STREAK TO 334 MINUTES

After serving as the backup goalkeeper for the Panthers last season, senior goalkeeper Joe van der Sar had made a nice transition into the starting role for Pitt.
van der Sar has been on top of his game of late as he hasn't allowed a goal in 334 consecutive minutes. The last goal he allowed came in the first half of the Panthers road game at No. 11 Marshall on Sept. 2.
Last time out, van der Sar was asked to make just one stop as the Panthers defense has allowed just five shots on goal across the 334 minute shutout streak for van der Sar.
The talented keeper has started all six games for the Panthers this season as he owns a 5-1 record and a 0.50 goals against average, a .833 save percentage and four shutouts.
van der Sar is tied for the ACC lead in shutouts (4) while ranking third in goals-against average (0.50) and save percentage (.833).
After making his first career start in the win over No. 2 Georgetown, van der Sar has notched shutouts of West Virginia, Howard, North Carolina and NC State.

LET ME ASSIST YOU

A major strength of the Panthers over the past couple seasons has been the way they distribute the ball.
So far this season, Pitt has 15 assists on 15 goals. The 15 total assists is currently tied for 29th in the NCAA while their 2.50 assists per game is tied for 27th in the NCAA.
Last season, Pitt led the NCAA in assists (63) and assists per game (3.15), both of which marked program records.
Over the last three seasons, Pitt leads the NCAA in total assists with 122 helpers.

NCAA Total Assist Leaders (Last 3 Seasons)
1. Pitt 122
2. Wake Forest 107
3. Campbell 104
4. Clemson 99
5. Washington 98

UP NEXT

No. 10 Pitt hits the road Friday night for a conference showdown against Louisville. The Panthers and Cardinals will square off at 8pm on ACC Network.
The Cardinals own the 5-1 record against Pitt all-time but the Panthers won the last meeting between the two squads in 2020 by the score of 4-1.

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No. 10 Pitt Hosts No. 14 Akron Monday Night For Top-15 Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Joe van der Sar

No. 10 Pitt Hosts No. 14 Akron Monday Night For Top-15 Showdown

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Joe van der Sar

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