No. 11 Panthers Slated to Meet No. 1 Florida State in NCAA Elite Eight

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh women's soccer team (17-4-1, 6-3-1 ACC) makes their Elite Eight debut in the NCAA Tournament as they will meet No. 1-ranked Florida State (19-0-1, 9-0-1 ACC) Friday, Nov. 24 in the 2023 NCAA Championship Fourth Round. The contest is set for a 5:30 p.m. first kick at Seminole Soccer Complex and will be aired live on ESPN+.

THE MATCHUP

This is the first time in program history the Panthers have advanced to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight. Last year, Pitt met the Seminoles in the Sweet Sixteen, but fell 3-0.
The No. 11 nationally ranked Panthers won their Sweet Sixteen matchup with No. 8 Memphis, 3-0, on Sunday in Fayetteville, Ark. Pitt opened their NCAA Tournament play with a dominant 6-0 showdown over Ohio State on November 11 at Ambrose Urbanic Field in Pittsburgh.
This is the sixth consecutive season that the Seminoles have advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight and the 17^th time in the last 19 seasons.
The winner of the matchup between Pitt and No. 1 overall seed Florida State will advance to the NCAA Championship Semifinals 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 will be the 14^th meeting between the Panthers and the Seminoles with Florida State holding a 13-0 edge on Pitt.
This will be the third time the Panthers have met the Seminoles this season.
Last time out, the Panthers fought hard until the end, but fell short to the Seminoles, 2-0, in the ACC Championship Semifinals.

SCOUTING FLORIDA STATE

The Seminoles defeated Texas in the Third Round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night at Seminole Soccer Complex, 5-0.
This was the most goals that Florida State has posted in the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament.
The Seminoles posted three out of their five goals within the first 20 minutes of play against Texas.
Beata Olsson, Taylor Huff, Jordynn Dudley, Oliva Garcia were the goal scorers for Florida State with Dudley putting two to her name.
Florida State's goalkeeper, Cristina Roque, secured the program record for most career shutouts in the NCAA Tournament on Friday Night – picking up her 14^th shutout.
This is the six time the Seminoles have left their opponents scoreless out of their last seven matchups.

BUILDING THE PROGRAM

The Panthers are now 62-44-8 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 53-22-4 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 (2.87), corner kicks per game (8.30), goal differential (40), points per game (8.43), scoring offense (2.78), shots per game (19.91), shots on goal per game (9.87), total assists (66), total goals (64), and total points (194).
Sarah Schupansky currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for assists per game (0.57), game winning goals (3), goals per game (0.48), points per game (1.52), shots per game (2.74), shots on goal per game (1.35), total assists (13), total goals (11), and total points (35).
Amanda West currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for goals per game (0.48), points per game (1.360, shot accuracy (0.540), shots per game (3.78), shots on goal per game (2.04), total assists (8), total goals (11), and total points (30).
Landy Mertz is ranked No. 6 nationally for assists per game (0.61) 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 (1.35), and total points (22).
Samiah Phiri currently ranks in the top-10 of the ACC for game winning goals (4), goals per game (0.48), points per game (1.13), shots per game (3.00), total goals (11), and total points (26).

CONTINUING TO MAKE HISTORY

The Panther advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history after leaving Memphis scoreless in the third round.
Pitt advanced 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 (194 - 64 goals, 66 assists), goals (64), assists (64), ACC wins (6), overall wins (17), home wins (9), most games played (23) and corner kicks (191) so far this season.