Sahmkow’s Hat Trick Powers No. 17 Pitt To 5-1 Home Win Over FDU

Monday, September 18

Pittsburgh, PA

7 PM

Pitt

3-2-2, 1-0-1

FDU

3-2-2, 0-0-0

FDU

Pittsburgh

Sahmkow’s Hat Trick Powers No. 17 Pitt To 5-1 Home Win Over FDU

9/18/2023 9:51:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score Box Score Season Stats Photo Gallery

PITTSBURGH – Behind Luis Sahmkow's first career hat trick, the Pitt men's soccer team (3-2-2, 1-0-1 ACC) handled business at home on Monday night as they collected a 5-1 non-conference victory over FDU at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Sahmkow's hat trick was also the first by a Pitt player since 2018 (Edward Kizza vs. Cleveland State).

Pitt senior midfielder Filip Mirkovic made some history of his own on Monday night as he recorded a career-high four assists on the night. The four-assist game tied a school record that stood untouched since 1978.

ESSENTIAL GAME INFO
Pitt starting XI: Cabral Carter, Jackson Gilman, Raphael Cilli, Abdoulaye Toure, Felipe Mercado, Mateo Maillefaud, Luis Sahmkow, Luka Kozomara, Filip Mirkovic, Mathys Lefebvre, Michael Sullivan
FDU starting XI: Kevin Ruiz, Alberto Herranz, Gabriel Le Guen, Tony Gomez, Mario Ibeas, Jayd Hamdaoua, Jonathan Ghobrial, Kevin Leonhard, Eugenio Garcia, Jeffrey Marquez
Records: Pitt (3-2-2, 1-0-1 ACC) | FDU (3-2-2, 0-0-0 NEC)
Location: Ambrose Urbanic Field | Pittsburgh, PA
Attendance: 419

SCORING INFO

Pitt Goals: Luis Sahmkow 3 (5), Joao Souza (1), Abdoulaye Toure (1)
Pitt Assists: Filip Mirkovic 4 (6), Mateo Maillefaud (2), Luka Kozomara (1)
FDU Goal: Tony Gomez (2)
FDU Assist: Matt Giraldo (1)

HOW IT HAPPENED – FIRST HALF

The Panthers got on the board in the fourth minute as the Knights were called for a hand ball in the box to give Pitt the penalty kick. On the ensuing kick, Luis Sahmkow buried his third goal of the season into the right corner of the goal
In the ninth minute, Sahmkow had another good scoring chance but his shot was saved by the diving keeper to his right
Luka Kozomara nearly doubled the Pitt lead in the 19^th minute as he ripped a right-footed shot off the right post and the Knights cleared it out
In the 28^th minute, Filip Mirkovic had a free kick from just outside the box that the FDU keeper made a diving stop to his right
FDU was able to notch their first shot of the match in the 38^th minute and Cabral Carter made the stop to preserve the 1-0 Pitt lead
The Knights tied the match in the 42^nd minute as Matt Giraldo sent a great cross into the box where Tony Gomez connected on the head goal to the left corner of the Pitt net
Pitt netted a dramatic goal in the final second of the first half as Filip Mirkovic sent a great corner into the box and Joao Souza headed home his first goal as a Panther to make it 2-1 at halftime

HOW IT HAPPENED – SECOND HALF

Pitt made it 3-1 in the 48th minute as Mirkovic sent a ball into the box and Sahmkow ripped a right-footed shot into the left corner of the goal for his brace
Just over three minutes later, Sahmkow finished off his hat trick. Mirkovic found Mateo Maillefaud who sent a cross into the box and Sahmkow calmly buried his third of the match, beating the FDU keeper who was out of position
The Panthers lead was extended to 5-1 in the 70^th minute as Abdoulaye Toure cleaned up a rebound after a shot from Luka Kozomara was saved by the FDU keeper. The goal was the first of his collegiate career as Kozomara and Mirkovic collected the assists
Pitt completed dominated the second half as they outshot the Knights 10-4 to secure the 5-1 home victory

MATCH STATS

Pitt held the dominant 22-7 lead in shots and the 7-3 edge in corner kicks in the win
Goalkeeper Cabral Carter made three saves in the win while Spencer King finished off his night allowing five goals and making three saves
Abdoulaye Toure and Luis Sahmkow each recorded a game-high five shots in the win while Luka Kozomara finished with four shots

MATCH NOTES

With the win, Pitt is now 1-0-0 all-time against FDU. Pitt also improves to 25-6-2 all-time against current NEC schools
With the win, Pitt improved to 35-5-6 (.826) at home since the start of the 2019 season. The .826 winning percentage is the best in the ACC and seventh best in the NCAA over the span
Pitt also improves to 46-1-3 when scoring the first goal of the match since the beginning of the 2019 season. Pitt is 3-0-0 this season when they score the first goal of the match
Senior Filip Mirkovic tied a school record with four assists on Pitt's five goals. The school record four assists in a match stood untouched since 1978 (Mark Nigh)
With his four assists, Mirkovic now sits in second place on the Panthers' all-time assist chart with 25 career assists. He surpassed former teammates Alexander Dexter and Bertin Jacquesson on the all-time list
Mirkovic is just one assist shy of tying the school of 26 assists in a career by Eric Prex
Luis Sahmkow netted his first career hat trick in the win for the Panthers. The three-goal effort marked the first hat trick by a Pitt player since 2018 (Edward Kizza vs. Cleveland State)
Joao Souza netted his first goal as a Panther with one second left in the first half. It also marked his first point since transferring to Pitt
Abdoulaye Toure netted his first career goal in the win for the Panthers

UP NEXT

The Panthers return to the road Friday night as they travel north to Syracuse to take on the defending national champion Orange. Friday's match against No. 7 Syracuse will kick at 7:00 pm and air live on ACC Network Extra.