Three Men’s Soccer Players Earn All-ACC Recognition
11/8/2023 11:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh men's soccer team saw a total of three student-athletes earn All-ACC recognition Wednesday morning, as announced by the conference office. The Panthers have now placed 27 on All-ACC squads over the past four seasons.
Senior Filip Mirkovic was named to the first team for the second straight season as he is now one of four Panthers in program history to be named to the First Team All-ACC multiple times in a career (Noel, Löeffelsend, Kizza). Sophomore defender Jackson Gilman earned the third team nod for the first time in his career while forward Albert Thorsen was tabbed to the All-Freshman Team after making a big impact for the Panthers this season.
Mirkovic is enjoying another strong season for the Panthers in the midfield as he has earned 15 starts while racking up a team-high nine assists on a team-high 25 shots. His nine assists are tied for second most in the ACC and 10th most in the NCAA while also being the fifth most in a single season in program history. The talented passer had the best game of his career in the win over Fairleigh Dickinson earlier this season as he racked up four assists on five goals. The four assists tied a school and ACC record for most assists in a single match.
Earlier this season, the Manhattan, NY native broke the school record for assists in a career which stood since 1994. Mirkovic has now collected 28 assists in 74 career matches for the Panthers and ranks third in program history in assists per game for his career (.38).
Gilman, a Schwensville, PA native, was named to the All-ACC Third Team for the first time in his Pitt career. The talented defender has posted a career year offensively as he has two goals, two assists and six points on nine shots so far this season. The centerback has started all 16 matches for the Panthers and has logged a team-best 1446 minutes while helping Pitt secure six cleansheets on the year and holding opponents to a 1.44 goals-against average. Gilman and the Panthers have held 10 of 16 opponents to one goal or less this season.
Thorsen, a native of Drammen, Norway, has turned into an important piece for the Panthers attack so far this season. Fighting through some injuries, Thorsen has appeared and started in 12 matches for the Panthers while posting four goals, two assists and 10 points on 22 shots. He started his career with goals in back-to-back games including a game-winner in the 5-0 victory over Howard in his second career match.
The Panthers (6-6-4, 2-3-3 ACC) will find out their postseason fate on Monday, Nov. 13 at 1:00 pm as the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Committee will announce the full 48-team field with the selection show on NCAA.com.
