No. 1 Pitt Blanks No. 17 Virginia Tech, 2-0, for Fifth-Consecutive Victory

Saturday, September 28

Blacksburg, VA

7 PM

Pitt

8-1-0, 4-0-0

Virginia Tech

5-2-1, 1-2-0

Pittsburgh

Virginia Tech

No. 1 Pitt Blanks No. 17 Virginia Tech, 2-0, for Fifth-Consecutive Victory

9/28/2024 10:02:00 PM | Men's Soccer

Box Score

BLACKSBURG, Va. – Behind a pair of second half tallies, the top-ranked Pitt men's soccer team downed No. 17 Virginia Tech, 2-0, Saturday evening at Thompson Field in Blacksburg, Va.

The Panthers (8-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) have now won five-consecutive matches, marking the program's longest streak since the 2020-21 campaign. Additionally, Saturday marked Pitt's eighth-straight win over the Hokies.

Defensively, the Panthers tallied their third-consecutive clean sheet. Of note, Pitt has gone 275 minutes and 34 seconds of action without allowing a goal, dating back to the second half against Louisville (Sept. 13).

Saturday, the Hokies (5-2-1, 1-2-0 ACC) 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 Greningslotted home his second goal of the season to extend the Panthers' lead.

Senior forward Luis Sahmkow and junior defender Casper Svendby both assisted on Grening's tally. Sahmkow, a native of Richardson, Texas, has logged a point in each of Pitt's last five matches and is tied for the league lead with 15 this season.

Of note, Pitt is in sole possession of first place in the ACC with just four league matches remaining.

ACC Standings (Top Five)

Place	School	Points	ACC Record	Overall Record
1	Pitt	12	4-0-0	8-1-0
2	Stanford	10	3-0-1	8-1-1
3	North Carolina	9	3-0-0	6-0-3
4	Duke	7	2-1-1	4-2-2
5	Clemson	6	2-1-0	5-1-2
	SMU	6	2-1-0	5-1-3

How It Happened

Both sides came out looking to control possession, as the first 19 minutes featured zero shot attempts.
- Virginia Tech attempted the first two shots of the match in the 20th minute.
- Pitt's first attempt came at the 22:27 mark.
The Panthers' best scoring opportunity of the first half came in the 38th minute, as Grening fired a strike, forcing a save from Virginia Tech's keeper.
The Hokies attempted five shots over the final 15 minutes of the opening frame – three of which being blocked.
The Panthers and Hokies entered the halftime break tied at zero.
- The two teams split possession in the first half, 50/50.
- The Hokies held a 7-2 shot advantage.
Virginia Tech came out aggressive in the second half, firing two shots within the first four minutes of play.
Pitt's first attempt of the half came from Eben McIntyre in the 53rd minute.
At the 64:12 mark, Pitt took a 1-0 lead on an own goal.
Virginia Tech attempted four shots over the next eight minutes, resulting in two Jack Moxom saves.
In the 77th minute, Grening extended Pitt's lead, notching his second goal of the season.
The Panthers held on defensively, securing their third-straight clean sheet to earn the 2-0 victory.

Details of Note

Pitt improved to 4-0 in the ACC, remaining in first place with 12 points.
Sahmkow notched a point for the fifth-consecutive match.
Svendby has now logged an assist in three-straight matches.
Grening made his 50th-career appearance.
Mateo Maillefaud made his 45th-career appearance and his 35th-career start.

Up Next
The Panthers will now open a four-match home stand, hosting a quartet of opponents in Howard (Oct. 2), Denver (Oct. 7), Cal (Oct. 11) and High Point (Oct. 14) with each match kicking off at 7 p.m., respectively.