Thursday, September 8
Richmond, VA
7:00 PM
Pitt
at
VCU
Women's Soccer Shoots for Best Start in Program History with Visit to VCU
9/7/2022 12:59:00 PM | Women's Soccer
THE MATCHUP
PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's soccer team (6-0-0) takes aim at its best start in program history as it opens the final week of non-conference play with a trip to Richmond, Va., to face VCU (1-1-4) Thursday. First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.
STARTING OUT HOT
With its 6-0 start to the 2022 campaign, the Panthers have matched the 2020 Pitt squad for the best start to a season in program history. Pitt has come storming out of the gate each of the last three seasons, following up its 6-0 start in 2020 by rattling off five straight wins to begin the '21 regular season.
Pitt is one of just 10 teams left in NCAA Division I that remains unbeaten and untied to start the 2022 season.
BUILDING THE PROGRAM
The Panthers are now 37-34-1 under the leadership of fifth-year head Randy Waldrum. After going 9-22-4 in the first two years of a massive rebuild, Pitt has gone 28-14 over the last two-plus seasons.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
Pitt has outscored the opposition 24-1 so far in 2022, including 21-1 over the last four games alone, most recently shutting down Cincinnati behind a pair of second-half goals by Leah Pais. The Panthers also rolled to a 7-0 victory over Kent State last Wednesday, marking the second time in as many seasons that Pitt has registered a 7-0 win, beating Saint Francis by the same score on Sept. 9, 2021. The victory over Kent State marked the third-straight season in which Pitt has scored seven goals in a game, with a 7-1 win over App State on Sept. 13, 2020, starting the streak. The Panthers have totaled at least six goals in a game five times and have won by at least five goals seven times in the last three years.
The Panthers currently rank second in NCAA Division I in total points (69) and total goals (24) and are tied for the second-best scoring offense (4.00 points per game). Pitt is also tied for fourth in the country in total assists (21), ranks sixth in shots per game (22.33) and is tied for eighth in shots on goal per game (10.33).
SHUT IT DOWN
The Panthers opened the 2022 season by earning a pair of shutout victories at the Rumble in the Rockies in Missoula, Mont. Pitt blanked Gonzaga, 1-0, in the season opener, then stifled host Montana, 2-0, three days later. The Panthers started a new season with back-to-back shutout victories for the first time since 2017. Pitt has added three more shutouts to its total courtesy of a 6-0 rout of Cleveland State, a 7-0 romp over Kent State and a 2-0 blanking of Cincinnati to make it five shutouts in six tries for the Panthers. Pitt's five shutouts are already tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. The Panthers have not allowed a goal in their last 309 minutes of play.
FINDING BALANCE
While Amanda West has once again been the catalyst of Pitt's attack with a team-high 14 points (tied for fourth in the nation) and six goals (tied for fourth-most in the country), the Panthers have seen 11 different players find the back of the net so far this season. Sarah Schupansky and Landy Mertz have each tallied three goals while Leah Pais, Emily Yaple, Ellie Coffield and Fleming Dean have cashed in twice. Ashton Gordon, Bri Hilsenteger, Samiah Phiriand Anna Bout have each found the back of the net once.
HOW MAY WE ASSIST?
Eleven different Panthers have distributed assists this season, with Sarah Schupansky, Anna Bout and Leah Pais pacing the squad with three apiece.Amanda West, Landy Mertz, Emily Yaple and Samiah Phiri have each accounted for two assists while Ellie Coffield, Ashton Gordon, Keera Melenhorstand Ashley Moon have all logged one helper.
LAZZ LOCKS IT DOWN
Caitlyn Lazzarini put together a career effort in the season-opening shutout of Gonzaga with 10 saves. She added three more saves to her weekend total in the blanking of Montana, giving her six career shutouts. Lazzarini takes a clean sheet of 516 minutes into Thursday's game against VCU. She shut out UMass, Cleveland State and Kent State in the first halves of those contests before being relieved and then put together 90 shutout minutes against Cincinnati.
SCOUTING VCU
Pitt and VCU are set to meet for the seventh time, with the Rams holding a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. The programs have not faced off since Sept. 12, 2019, when VCU prevailed, 1-0, in Pittsburgh. Pitt is making its first trip to Richmond to take on VCU since Sept. 9, 2012, when the Panthers fell, 1-0, in overtime. The Panthers' lone victory over VCU came on Oct. 10, 2002 -- a 3-2 triumph for Pitt. Four of VCU's victories over Pitt have come by 1-0 scores, including each of the last three matchups.
Lindsey Martin is in her 10th season as the head coach at VCU, leading the Rams to a 91-57-24 record over the last decade. Martin was named the 2021 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year after the Rams won the A-10 regular season championship with a 13-4-0 overall record and a 9-1-0 mark in conference play, VCU's first conference crown since joining the league in 2012.
The Rams have compiled one win and four ties in six games so far in 2022, scoring just four goals but conceding just four. Aisha Maughan and Kendyl Sarver are tied for the team lead with three points (one goal, one assist) apiece. Whitney Horton has racked up 18 saves in 540 minutes of work in goal.
BACK ON THE BENCH
Randy Waldrum was absent from Pitt's bench on Sunday against Cincinnati as he was performing his duties as head coach of the Nigeria Women's Senior National Team. The Super Falcons took on the United States Women's National Team in a pair of friendlies, falling 4-0 on Saturday in Kansas City and 2-1 on Tuesday in Washington D.C. Nigeria secured one of four spots for the African nations in the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand under Waldrum's watch after Nigeria earned a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the African Women's World Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament in Casablanca in July.
UP NEXT
Pitt plays host to its final non-conference game of the 2022 season on Sunday as it welcomes Liberty to Ambrose Urbanic Field. The game will serve as Senior Day for the Panthers. The contest is set to get underway at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
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PITTSBURGH - The Pitt women's soccer team (6-0-0) takes aim at its best start in program history as it opens the final week of non-conference play with a trip to Richmond, Va., to face VCU (1-1-4) Thursday. First touch is scheduled for 7 p.m. The matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.
STARTING OUT HOT
With its 6-0 start to the 2022 campaign, the Panthers have matched the 2020 Pitt squad for the best start to a season in program history. Pitt has come storming out of the gate each of the last three seasons, following up its 6-0 start in 2020 by rattling off five straight wins to begin the '21 regular season.
Pitt is one of just 10 teams left in NCAA Division I that remains unbeaten and untied to start the 2022 season.
BUILDING THE PROGRAM
The Panthers are now 37-34-1 under the leadership of fifth-year head Randy Waldrum. After going 9-22-4 in the first two years of a massive rebuild, Pitt has gone 28-14 over the last two-plus seasons.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT
Pitt has outscored the opposition 24-1 so far in 2022, including 21-1 over the last four games alone, most recently shutting down Cincinnati behind a pair of second-half goals by Leah Pais. The Panthers also rolled to a 7-0 victory over Kent State last Wednesday, marking the second time in as many seasons that Pitt has registered a 7-0 win, beating Saint Francis by the same score on Sept. 9, 2021. The victory over Kent State marked the third-straight season in which Pitt has scored seven goals in a game, with a 7-1 win over App State on Sept. 13, 2020, starting the streak. The Panthers have totaled at least six goals in a game five times and have won by at least five goals seven times in the last three years.
The Panthers currently rank second in NCAA Division I in total points (69) and total goals (24) and are tied for the second-best scoring offense (4.00 points per game). Pitt is also tied for fourth in the country in total assists (21), ranks sixth in shots per game (22.33) and is tied for eighth in shots on goal per game (10.33).
SHUT IT DOWN
The Panthers opened the 2022 season by earning a pair of shutout victories at the Rumble in the Rockies in Missoula, Mont. Pitt blanked Gonzaga, 1-0, in the season opener, then stifled host Montana, 2-0, three days later. The Panthers started a new season with back-to-back shutout victories for the first time since 2017. Pitt has added three more shutouts to its total courtesy of a 6-0 rout of Cleveland State, a 7-0 romp over Kent State and a 2-0 blanking of Cincinnati to make it five shutouts in six tries for the Panthers. Pitt's five shutouts are already tied for the fifth-most in a single season in program history. The Panthers have not allowed a goal in their last 309 minutes of play.
FINDING BALANCE
While Amanda West has once again been the catalyst of Pitt's attack with a team-high 14 points (tied for fourth in the nation) and six goals (tied for fourth-most in the country), the Panthers have seen 11 different players find the back of the net so far this season. Sarah Schupansky and Landy Mertz have each tallied three goals while Leah Pais, Emily Yaple, Ellie Coffield and Fleming Dean have cashed in twice. Ashton Gordon, Bri Hilsenteger, Samiah Phiriand Anna Bout have each found the back of the net once.
HOW MAY WE ASSIST?
Eleven different Panthers have distributed assists this season, with Sarah Schupansky, Anna Bout and Leah Pais pacing the squad with three apiece.Amanda West, Landy Mertz, Emily Yaple and Samiah Phiri have each accounted for two assists while Ellie Coffield, Ashton Gordon, Keera Melenhorstand Ashley Moon have all logged one helper.
LAZZ LOCKS IT DOWN
Caitlyn Lazzarini put together a career effort in the season-opening shutout of Gonzaga with 10 saves. She added three more saves to her weekend total in the blanking of Montana, giving her six career shutouts. Lazzarini takes a clean sheet of 516 minutes into Thursday's game against VCU. She shut out UMass, Cleveland State and Kent State in the first halves of those contests before being relieved and then put together 90 shutout minutes against Cincinnati.
SCOUTING VCU
Pitt and VCU are set to meet for the seventh time, with the Rams holding a 5-1 lead in the all-time series. The programs have not faced off since Sept. 12, 2019, when VCU prevailed, 1-0, in Pittsburgh. Pitt is making its first trip to Richmond to take on VCU since Sept. 9, 2012, when the Panthers fell, 1-0, in overtime. The Panthers' lone victory over VCU came on Oct. 10, 2002 -- a 3-2 triumph for Pitt. Four of VCU's victories over Pitt have come by 1-0 scores, including each of the last three matchups.
Lindsey Martin is in her 10th season as the head coach at VCU, leading the Rams to a 91-57-24 record over the last decade. Martin was named the 2021 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year after the Rams won the A-10 regular season championship with a 13-4-0 overall record and a 9-1-0 mark in conference play, VCU's first conference crown since joining the league in 2012.
The Rams have compiled one win and four ties in six games so far in 2022, scoring just four goals but conceding just four. Aisha Maughan and Kendyl Sarver are tied for the team lead with three points (one goal, one assist) apiece. Whitney Horton has racked up 18 saves in 540 minutes of work in goal.
BACK ON THE BENCH
Randy Waldrum was absent from Pitt's bench on Sunday against Cincinnati as he was performing his duties as head coach of the Nigeria Women's Senior National Team. The Super Falcons took on the United States Women's National Team in a pair of friendlies, falling 4-0 on Saturday in Kansas City and 2-1 on Tuesday in Washington D.C. Nigeria secured one of four spots for the African nations in the 2023 Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand under Waldrum's watch after Nigeria earned a 1-0 win over Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the African Women's World Cup of Nations (WAFCON) tournament in Casablanca in July.
UP NEXT
Pitt plays host to its final non-conference game of the 2022 season on Sunday as it welcomes Liberty to Ambrose Urbanic Field. The game will serve as Senior Day for the Panthers. The contest is set to get underway at 1 p.m. and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
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