Women's Soccer Starts West Coast Swing at LMU Thursday

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt women's soccer team starts a West Coast swing Thursday at Loyola Marymount. The Panthers look to bounce back from Sunday's 1-0 loss to Texas. Thursday's game will kick off at 5 p.m. ET and stream on ESPN+.

THE OPENING KICK

Pitt began the 2026 season with a pair of matches at Ambrose Urbanic Field. The Panthers scored a 2-1 victory over Youngstown State in the opener but fell to Texas last Sunday 1-0.
The Longhorns capitalized on a penalty kick opportunity in the second half after a handball was called on the Panthers. Pitt outshot Texas 21-14 in the match and had multiple prime opportunities to net the equalizer late in the game.
Pitt and LMU meet for the third time in program history with the last meeting coming in 2024. Pitt won the last meeting 3-0, with Olivia Lee, Katie Zailski and Lola Abraham starting in the contest.

CREATING CHANCES

The Panthers have outshot their opponents 34-20 to open the season, leading in shots on goal 9-6 as well.
Pitt has also taken more corners to start the year than its opponents. The Panthers have drawn 23 corners to opponents' 12.

LOGGING MINUTES

Claire Jones and Katie Zailski have played the full 90 in both of the first two matches of the year for Pitt.
Zailski came into the year 14^th in the Pitt record book in career minutes played with 5108. After the first two games, Zailski has passed Roosa Arvas, '16 to move into 13^th.

SCOUTING THE LIONS

The Lions were selected sixth in the WCC Preseason Poll after finishing with a 5-7-5 overall record and a 2-5-4 WCC record in 2025.
LMU returns 18 players, including nearly two thirds of the total minutes from last season. The Lions bring in five transfers and seven freshmen for the new season.
JJ Hoover is back in net for the Lions in 2026. Hoover started in the 2024 matchup between the Panthers and the Lions, making six saves and allowing three goals.
LMU opened the season with a 1-0 loss at UC Santa Barbara. The Lions let in an early goal and despite outshooting the Gauchos, couldn't find the equalizer.