Pitt Continues Homestand With No. 18 North Carolina Friday Night

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt men's soccer team (4-3-2, 1-1-1 ACC) will host another nationally ranked foe Friday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field as No. 18 North Carolina comes to town for an ACC battle. Friday's match will kick at 7:00 pm and air live on ACC Network Extra.

GAME PROMOTION

Friday night Happy Hour – 50% off all domestic drafts at the concession stand until kickoff

FOLLOW ALONG

Friday night's contest will air live on ACC Network Extra and can be found online HERE.
Live stats for Friday's game can be found HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will also be posted on Twitter by following the Pitt men's soccer account @Pitt_MSOC.

THE SERIES VS. NORTH CAROLINA

This meeting marks the 11th all-time between the two programs with the Tar Heels owning the 8-2-0 series lead over Pitt.
The Panthers have won two straight in the series including a 1-0 road victory over the Tar Heels last season. The road win marked Pitt's first in North Carolina in series history.
The Panthers are 1-4 all-time at home against UNC with their lone victory coming last time the two met in Pittsburgh in 2021, a dominant 4-0 victory for the Panthers.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS

North Carolina has posted a 4-0-3 overall record and a 1-0-2 ACC mark so far this season. The Tar Heels have won two straight including a 2-1 home win over Duke on Sunday.
UNC is currently ranked No. 18 in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll.
The Tar Heels are being led offensively by Quenzi Huerman who has netted a team-high six goals, three assists and 15 points on 24 shots. Martin Vician has chipped in with four goals, one assist and nine points on 23 shots to lead the North Carolina offensive.
In goal, the Tar Heels have played three different keepers including Quinn Closson who owns a 2-0-2 record, Collin Travasos who owns a 1-0-1 record and Andrew Cordes who is 1-0-0. Cordes started the last match against Duke and finished with four saves while allowing one goal in the win.

LAST TIME OUT VS. #19 DENVER

The Panthers put together a great team performance Monday night as they led wire-to-wire and secured a 3-1 home victory over #19 Denver at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
Pitt got out to a strong start as Joao Souza finished off a back-heel goal into the left corner of the goal in the third minute to give the Panthers the early 1-0 lead. Souza then doubled the lead in the 14th minute as he took a Filip Mirkovic pass and buried the ball into the left corner again. Denver responded a minute later but the Panthers never let them back into the match as Albert Thorsen netted his third of the season to secure the win. Santiago Ferreira collected his first career assist on Thorsen's goal.
For the match, the two teams were tied with eight shots while the Pioneers held the 6-2 edge in corner kicks.
In goal, Cabral Carter finished with two saves to secure his fourth win of the season.

MIRKOVIC THE MAGICIAN

With a whole new attacking group joining the fold this season, junior Luis Sahmkow has been tasked with picking up some of the scoring burden and he's delivered through the first eight matches of the season.
So far this season, Sahmkow has started six matches for the Panthers and secured a team-high six goals on 13 shots while converting on a NCAA-leading 3-for-3 on penalty shots.
His six goals are tied for second in the ACC while his 1.0 goals per game leads the conference and is tied for second in the NCAA. He also leads all players in the NCAA with three penalty kick markers on the year.
Last time out, Sahmkow netted his fourth goal in two matches as he bent a shot inside the right post in the 3-2 road loss to Syracuse. He finished the match with a goal and two shots on goal.
In the win over FDU, Sahmkow had the best game of his career as he netted his first career hat trick. After converting on a PK in the fourth minute, he netted two goals in the second half just over two minutes apart.
He is the first Panther since Edward Kizza in 2018 (twice) to net a hat trick.
For his career, Sahmkow now has 11 goals and 26 points in 31 games. His .36 goals per match is fourth best in program history while his .84 points per game is fifth best in program history.

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

Appearing in two College Cups in the past three seasons, the Pitt men's soccer team has been one of the most successful programs in the nation.
Pitt is the only team in the nation to appear in each of the past three Elite Eights.
Over the past four seasons (2020-23), Pitt is third in total wins among all teams in the nation with 44 victories.
The Panthers have collected at least 12 wins in each of the past three seasons.

MOST WINS IN NCAA SINCE 2020

No.          Team                           Wins
1.             Washington                  47
2.             Clemson                       46
3.             Pitt 44
4.             Kentucky                      43
                Indiana                         43
                Wake Forest                 43|
                Georgetown                 43
                New Hampshire            43

NEXT UP

Pitt returns home next Friday, Oct. 6 as they welcome ACC foe Virginia Tech to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a 7:00 pm kick on ACC Network Extra.

Pitt Continues Homestand With No. 18 North Carolina Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cabral Carter

Santiago Ferreira

Filip Mirkovic

Luis Sahmkow

Joao Souza

Albert Thorsen

Pitt Continues Homestand With No. 18 North Carolina Friday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Cabral Carter

Santiago Ferreira

Filip Mirkovic

Luis Sahmkow

Joao Souza

Albert Thorsen

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