Pitt
James Madison
Pitt Falls To James Madison In NCAA Championship First Round, 3-2
11/16/2023 10:16:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt men's soccer team (6-7-4, 2-3-2 ACC) saw their 2023 season come to an end on Thursday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field as James Madison earned the 3-2 victory in the NCAA Championship First Round. Michael Sullivan and Albert Thorsen scored goals in the loss for Pitt.
ESSENTIAL GAME INFO
Pitt starting XI: Cabral Carter, Jackson Gilman, Raphael Cilli, Felipe Mercado, Albert Thorsen, Guilherme Feitosa, Joao Souza, Mateo Maillefaud, Filip Mirkovic, Mathys Lefebvre, Michael Sullivan
Records: Pitt (6-7-4, 2-3-2 ACC) | James Madison (9-4-5, 4-2-3 SBC)
Location: Ambrose Urbanic Field | Pittsburgh, PA
Attendance: 764
SCORING INFO
Pitt Goal: Michael Sullivan (1), Albert Thorsen (5)
Pitt Assists: Joao Souza (1), Raphael Cilli (2), Guilherme Feitosa (3)
JMU Goals: Alex Krakowiak (1), Rodrigo Robles 2 (9)
JMU Assists: Kevin Larsson (6), Luca Nikolai (4)
HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF
- The Dukes were able to get on the board first in the 12th minute of play as Alex Krakowiak converted on a turnover by Pitt keeper Cabral Carter on a passing attempt deep in Pitt's defensive zone
- The Panthers came right back and tied the match, 1-1, in the 16th minute as Joao Souza sent a cross into the box and Michael Sullivan converted on a diving header in front of the cage into the left corner for his first of the season
- JMU regained the lead just over two minutes later as Rodrigo Robles broke in down the left wing and beat Carter to the right corner
- Once again, Pitt responded with the tying goal as Albert Thorsen converted on a rebound into the right corner after a hard shot by Guilherme Feitosa came off the JMU keepers hands to the feet of Thorsen
HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF
- Carter came up with a big diving stop in the 48th minute to keep the match tied early on in the second half
- In the 57th minute, the Dukes broke through with the go-ahead goal as Robles buried his second of the match after a nice cross from Luca Nikolai
- After some back and forth play, Pitt captain Jackson Gilman was given a questionable red card in the 71st minute as he made contact with a James Madison forward on a break. Pitt played the final 19 minutes down a man
- After the card on Gilman, Pitt wasn't able to produce any quality chances as they fell 3-2
MATCH STATS
- For the match, Pitt held the 10-9 edge in shots and the 6-4 advantage in corner kicks
- Feitosa led all players with four shots in the loss for Pitt
MATCH NOTES
- With the loss, Pitt falls to 0-3-0 all-time against James Madison
- With the loss, Pitt is now 10-4-1 all-time in NCAA Tournament matches under head coach Jay Vidovich
- Pitt caps the 2023 season with a 6-3-2 record at Ambrose Urbanic Field
- Sullivan netted the first goal of the match for the Panthers and his first of the season
- Thorsen netted his fifth goal of the season in the loss as he closes out his freshman campaign tied for the team lead with 12 points
