Men's Soccer
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Phone:
- 412-648-8334
Zack Schilawski enters his third season as assistant coach for the Pitt men’s soccer team in 2025. Schilawski works closely with the Panthers’ attacking players.
In 2024, Schilawski helped lead Pitt to one of its best seasons to date – winning the ACC Regular Season Championship for the first time in program history, while reaching the national quarterfinals for the fourth time in the past five seasons.
The Panthers earned the No. 2 overall seed in the 2024 NCAA Tournament. Pitt went undefeated against nationally-ranked opponents (5-0) in the regular season, while outscoring them by an 11-2 margin. The Panthers defeated 25 percent (four) of the top 16 national seeds, including the third and fourth seeds, respectively.
A total of eight Panthers garnered All-ACC accolades during the 2024 campaign, as defender Casper Svendby notably won ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Additionally, midfielder Michael Sullivan was taken with the 39th overall pick by Toronto FC in the 2025 MLS Superdraft.
During the 2023 campaign, Schilawski helped the Panthers reach the NCAA Tournament for the fifth-consecutive season. The Panthers played the toughest slate nationally, entering the NCAA Tournament ranked No. 1 in strength of schedule.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Panthers saw three players earn a spot on an All-ACC team as voted by ACC coaches. Senior Filip Mirkovic earned First Team honors for the second straight season after notching a team-high nine assists. Sophomore defender Jackson Gilman was named to the Third Team for the first time in his career after posting a career year offensively with two goals, two assists and six points. Defensively he helped Pitt secure six clean sheets on the year. Albert Thorsen earned the All-Freshman Team nod after posting four goals, two assists and 10 points in 12 games.
Schilawski is a familiar face for Vidovich as he played for him for four seasons (2006-10) at Wake Forest. The talented forward finished his career with a program record 99 games played, while also ranking third in program history in points (100) and goals (40) during his stellar collegiate career. He also netted the game-winning goal in the 2007 College Cup final victory over Ohio State to secure the Demon Deacons’ first national championship in program history.
Schilawski came to Pittsburgh after spending the previous two seasons at UNC Wilmington where he helped the Seahawks post a 6-4-7 overall record in 2022 and finished second in the Colonial Athletic Association with a 5-1-3 showing. The Seahawks played CAA regular season champion Elon to a scoreless draw in the regular season finale to clinch the CAA Tournament's no. 2 seed along with hosting rights to the tournament's opening week.
Under his tutelage, Bachir Ndiaye earned First Team All-CAA and First Team All-Atlantic Region honors while becoming just the fifth UNCW player to be drafted in the MLS SuperDraft as he was selected by Inter Miami FC in the second round (47th overall). He also helped Jalen Anderson earn Second Team All-CAA honors and Third Team All-Atlantic Region honors after leading the squad with five goals.
In his first season at UNCW in 2021, the Seahawks authored a 9-6-2 record, including a 4-3-1 mark in the CAA. The Seahawks downed No. 15 James Madison by a 1-0 result and earned a victory over Atlantic Coast Conference opponent North Carolina.
Schilawski, a Cary, NC native, joined the Seahawks after serving as an assistant coach at the University of Denver for one season. The Pioneers, who authored a 6-2 record during the spring 2021 season, captured the Summit League regular season title and placed six student-athletes on the All-Summit League Teams, including three First-Team selections.
Prior to joining the collegiate coaching ranks, Schilawski graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law. In 2017, he was admitted to practice law in North Carolina. He focused his practice on all aspects of North Carolina family law litigation and negotiation with the Wake Family Law Group.
A 2010 graduate of Wake Forest, Schilawski appeared in a program-record 99 career matches for the Demon Deacons with 42 starts. He stands as one of four players in Wake Forest history to record 100 or more career points after registering 40 goals with 20 assists.
Schilawski netted 15 game-winning goals during his All-American career, including the title-winning tally against Ohio State in the 2007 NCAA Division I Championship Game. He earned Third-Team All-America plaudits from the National Soccer Coaches Association of America as a senior in 2009 after leading the Atlantic Coast Conference with 14 goals and 35 points.
In addition to his talents on the field, Schilawski earned First-Team CoSIDA Academic All-America® honors during his junior and senior seasons. He also claimed a spot on the NSCAA/adidas Men’s College Scholar All-America First Team and was a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award in 2009.
Following his outstanding collegiate career, he was the ninth overall pick in the 2010 Major League Soccer SuperDraft, starting 28-of-50 games in two seasons with the New England Revolution. He ranked second on the team with five goals during his rookie campaign in 2010 and became the first rookie in MLS history to register a hat trick in his home debut when he struck for three goals in the first half against Toronto on Apr. 10, 2010.
Schilawski contributed a goal with an assist while starting 13-of-25 contests in 2011 for the New England Revolution. He then played two seasons, scoring 15 goals, for the Carolina RailHawks in the North American Soccer League before ending his professional career to pursue his law degree.
Schilawski also has coaching experience in the PDL, assisting North Carolina FC’s U-23 team in the summers.
