No. 4 Pitt Primed for Pivotal Showdown with No. 7 North Carolina

PITTSBURGH – After dropping consecutive matches for the first time this season, the No. 4-ranked Pitt men's soccer team will travel to face No. 7 North Carolina Saturday evening at Dorrance Field.

Kickoff is slated for 6 p.m., and the match can be streamed via ACCNX.

Need to Know - Game 14
No. 4 Pitt (10-3-0, 4-1-0 ACC) at No. 7 North Carolina (8-1-4, 3-1-1 ACC)
Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024 - 6 PM - ACCNX
Chapel Hill, N.C. – Dorrance Field

The Opening Kick
Looking to Bounce Back
After tying the program record for consecutive wins (7), Pitt has dropped back-to-back matches to Cal and High Point. Of note, prior to the Cal setback, Pitt had gone over five weeks (Sept. 1) without a loss.

In the Rankings
The Panthers currently rank second nationally in NCAA RPI. Pitt ranks fourth in the country in goals against average (.615) and eighth in goals (30). Additionally, the Panthers rank third in goal differential.

TDS Midseason Rankings
Pitt had four players ranked in the TopDrawerSoccer midseason top 100 - Jackson Gilman (7th), Guilherme Feitosa(11th), Luis Sahmkow (19) and Casper Svendby (61).

Scouting the Tar Heels

Ranked No. 7 nationally, North Carolina owns an 8-1-4 record this season, including a 3-1-1 mark in ACC play.
- The Tar Heels have notable victories over Duke and NC State.
Offensively, North Carolina is led by top goal scorer Martin Vician - who has logged 10 goals this season.
Midfielder Andrew Czech has also had a stellar 2024 campaign, leading the Tar Heels in assists with five.
In goal, keeper Andrew Cordes has notched six clean sheets, while accumulating a 0.85 GAA.

Series History

Saturday will mark the 12th all-time meeting between Pitt and North Carolina, as the Tar Heels own an 8-2-1 ledger; however, the Panthers are 2-0-1 over the last three matches.
Individually, head coach Jay Vidovich has an 11-14-7 record against North Carolina.

Last Time Out
Pitt fell to High Point, 1-0, Monday evening at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The loss marked the Panthers' second defeat in as many matches and their first-ever loss to High Point.

Pitt controlled possession for much of the contest, before a 23rd minute High Point header opened the scoring. Pitt then began to play on the front foot for the remainder of the contest but was unable to find the equalizer. Of note, despite falling 1-0, Pitt controlled possession 66 percent.

Offensively, Guilherme Feitosa led the Panthers with a team-high three shots, including one on goal. In net, junior keeper Cabral Carter tallied a game-high four saves.

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
Week 7	No. 1	No. 2	No. 1
Week 8	No. 4	No. 5	No. 2

Up Next
The Panthers return home for the regular season home finale Friday (Oct. 25) against Virginia. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m., and the match can be streamed via ACCNX.