No. 11 Panthers Ready to Face No. 8 Memphis in a Sweet Sixteen Showdown

FAYETTEVILLE, AR – The University of Pittsburgh women's soccer team (16-5-1, 6-2-1) is ready to make their second Sweet Sixteen appearance in the NCAA Tournament where they will meet No. 8-ranked Memphis (20-1-0, 9-0) Sunday in the 2023 NCAA Championship Third Round. The matchup will take place at Razorback Field in Fayetteville, AR with the opening kick slated for 7 p.m. EST. The contest will be aired live on ESPN+.

THE MATCHUP

This is the second consecutive time the Panthers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen. Last year was Pitt's first time in program history making it to the Third Round of the tournament.
Memphis has reached the Round of 16 for the second-consecutive season which is a first for their program history.
The No. 7-seeded Panthers won their NCAA Second Round Matchup with No. 2-seeded Arkansas, 4-3, on Friday in Arkansas. Pitt's Ellie Coffield posted the game winning goal in the 89^th minute off of a corner kick from Sarah Schupansky – leaving just under 90 seconds of regulation left.
The winner of the matchup between Pitt and Memphis will take on either No. 1 nationally seeded Florida State or No. 5 seeded Texas in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament next weekend.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Sunday evening's NCAA Tournament matchup will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Live stats will be available HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will be posted on X, formally known as Twitter, by following the Pitt women's soccer account @Pitt_WSOC.

THE SERIES

This is the first time the Panthers and the Razorbacks are meeting in program history.
The Panthers currently hold a 16-5-1 record on the season where the Tigers are 20-1-0.

SCOUTING MEMPHIS

The Tigers defeated Notre Dame on Friday afternoon in the Second Round, 3-2.
Finley Lavin put Memphis up first in the 16^th minute of play – finding an opening in the left corner of the goal. This was her first career goal.
Goalkeeper Kaylie Biernman posted five saves in the first 44 minutes of play, but Notre Dame was able to place a shot – making the score 1-1 going into halftime. Biernman was able to secure one more save on the night – securing a six save career high.
The Tigers took the lead again at the 76^th minute by Saorla Miller.
Memphis was able to double their lead 90 seconds later by Ashley Henderson who was able to beat her defender at the top of the box.
Notre Dame was able to secure one more goal just two minutes later but were not able to find the equalizer.
This win was the Tigers' 17^th-straight victory.

BUILDING THE PROGRAM

The Panthers are now 61-44-8 under the leadership of sixth-year head coach Randy Waldrum. In his first two years at Pitt, Waldrum went 9-22-4 – working towards a massive rebuild. Now the Panthers have gone 52-22-4 over the last three-plus seasons.

WEST IS THE BEST

Amanda West still holds the reign on the all-time scoring record with 50 career goals to her name, 31 assists and 131 points. This season so far, she has posted 11 goals, 8 assists and 31 points total.

MARVELOUS MERTZ

Landy Mertz is on fire this season. She also broke the season record this year with 14 assists thus far and the multi-assists game record with four. This past week, Mertz was named to TopDrawerSoccer and College Soccer News Teams of the Week after posting three assists and one goal against Ohio State on Saturday night.

SCHUPANSKY THE SUPERSTAR

Sarah Schupansky has been electric on the field this season. With her two assists against Arkansas, she has secured the program record for single-season points. She now has 35 total points on the season. Schupansky has produced 11 goals and 13 assists thus far in the season.

PANTHERS IN THE POLLS

	United Soccer Coaches	TopDrawerSoccer	College Soccer News
Preseason	14	15	17
Week 1	21	14	16
Week 2	21	13	14
Week 3	22	11	12
Week 4	RV	15	16
Week 5	RV	11	14
Week 6	--	18	22
Week 7	RV	14	21
Week 8	17	11	15
Week 9	18	9	11
Week 10	20	13	17
Week 11	11	10	16

RANKINGS ALL AROUND

The Panthers are currently ranked in the top-10 in the nation in assists per game (2.91), corner kicks per game (8.36), goal differential (37), points per game (8.45), scoring offense (2.77), shots per game (19.95), shots on goal per game (9.86), total assists (64), total goals (61), and total points (186).
Sarah Schupansky currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for assists per game (0.55), game winning goals (3), goals per game (0.50), points per game (1.55), shots per game (2.73), shots on goal per game (1.32), total assists (12), total goals (11), and total points (35).
Amanda West currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for goals per game (0.50), points per game (1.36), shot accuracy (0.549), shots per game (3.73), shots on goal per game (2.05), total assists (8), total goals (11), and total points (30).
Landy Mertz is ranked No. 5 nationally for assists per game (0.64) and No. 3 for total assists (14). She is ranked in the top-10 in the conference for shot accuracy (0.554), shots on goal per game (1.41), and total points (22).
Samiah Phiri currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for game winning goals (4), goals per game (0.50), points per game (1.14), shots per game (3.00), total goals (11), and total points (25).

CONTINUING TO MAKE HISOTRY

Pitt advances to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament for the second consecutive time and second time in program history after the victory against Arkansas.
Sarah Schupanksy posted two assists against Arkansas in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament to secure the program record for single-season points (35).
The Panthers took down Ohio State in the First Round of the NCAA Tournament – securing the program record for overall wins in a single season (15).
Landy Mertz added her name to the record book again after posting three assists against Ohio State – earning the program record for total assists in a single season (12).
Pitt advanced to the semifinals in the ACC Championships for the first time in program history.
The Panthers upset UNC for the first time in program history after posting the game winning goal in the first 10-minute period of overtime.
Pitt is entered the ACC Championships with back-to-back appearances after landing a spot in the tournament for the first time in program history last season.
The Panthers completed the regular season contest undefeated at Ambrose Urbanic field, 8-0-1, setting a new home winning record.
Pitt has secured the program record for most ACC wins in a single season (6).
The Panthers tacked on two goals against Virginia Tech – posting a new program record for goals secured in a single season (49). Since then, they have added x goals to their tally.
This team continues to break program records in points (186 - 61 goals, 64 assists), goals (61), assists (64), ACC wins (6), overall wins (16), home wins (9), most games played (23) and corner kicks (184) so far this season.