No. 1 Pitt Opens Four-Match Home Stand; Hosts Howard Wednesday

PITTSBURGH – Currently coasting a five-match winning streak, the No. 1-ranked Pitt men's soccer team will make its highly-anticipated return to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a showdown with Howard Wednesday evening.

Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET, and the match can be streamed via ACCNX.

    Need to Know - Game 10
    No. 1 Pitt (8-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) vs. Howard (1-4-2, 1-0-0 NEC)
    Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024 - 7 PM - ACCNX
    Pittsburgh, Pa. – Ambrose Urbanic Field

Fan/Ticket Information
Single-match tickets for the 2024 campaign can be purchased in advance HERE for $10 each. Tickets on match day will be sold at the Petersen Sports Complex ticket office for $12 each. Discounted group sale tickets are available for groups of 15+.

The Opening Kick
ACC Defensive Player of the Week
Junior defender Casper Svendby was tabbed the ACC Defensive Player of the Week, as announced by the league Tuesday evening. With the honor, Svendby became the first Panther to garner an ACC weekly accolade since Jackson Gilman in 2022.

Svendby anchored Pitt's back line against Virginia Tech as the Panthers held the Hokies to a season-low three shots on goal en route to their third-consecutive clean sheet.

Nationally-Ranked Defense
Defensively, Pitt ranks second in the country with a .556 goals against average. The Panthers have gone 275 minutes and 34 seconds of action without allowing a goal, dating back to the second half against Louisville (Sept. 13).

Senior Season Sahmkow
Senior forward Luis Sahmkow has recorded five goals in the last four games, bringing his season total to seven - which ranks ninth nationally. Of note, Sahmkow recorded back-to-back braces against Louisville and Cleveland State.

Scouting the Bison

Howard has gotten off to a 1-4-2 start this season, including a win against Central Connecticut State and a draw with George Washington.
Graduate forward Mason Christian and freshman midfielder Zach Simmons recently claimed NEC Co-Player of the Week and Rookie of the Week honors, respectively.
- Christian accumulated five points (two goals & one assist) in the home matchups versus George Washington (Sept. 24) and Central Connecticut State (Sept. 29).
  - After leading HU to a stalemate against the Revolutionaries, he tallied three points (one goal & one assist) in Howard's 4-1 victory over the Blue Devils.

Series History

Wednesday will mark the 12th all-time meeting between the two teams as Pitt currently leads the series, 8-3. Of note, the Panthers have won three straight.
- Last season, Pitt earned a 5-0 victory at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
  - Albert Thorsen scored two goals in the contest, notching his first-career brace.
Head coach Jay Vidovich has compiled a 4-0 ledger against the Bison throughout his career.

Last Time Out
Behind a pair of second half tallies, Pitt downed then-No. 17 Virginia Tech, 2-0, Saturday evening at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Va.

The victory marked the Panthers' five-consecutive win – the program's longest streak since the 2020-21 campaign.

Saturday, the Hokies and Panthers battled to a scoreless draw through the first 64 minutes of action, before a 65th minute own goal broke the deadlock. Just over 12 minutes later, senior forward Casper Grening slotted home his second goal of the season to extend the Panthers' lead.

Panthers in the Polls

	United Soccer Coaches	TopDrawerSoccer	NCAA RPI
Preseason	Unranked	Unranked	-
Week 1	No. 3	No. 10	-
Week 2	No. 8	No. 12	-
Week 3	No. 7	No. 6	-
Week 4	No. 2	No. 5	-
Week 5	No. 1	No. 3	No. 1
Week 6	No. 1	No. 3	No. 1

Up Next
The Panthers will resume their four-match home stand facing Denver (Oct. 7), Cal (Oct. 11) and High Point (Oct. 14) with each match kicking off at 7 p.m., respectively.