FINAL: Pitt 5, Loyola Marymount 4

FINAL: Pitt 5, Loyola Marymount 4

BOX SCORE/STATS 

MATCH DAY UPDATES

It was a wild way to open the season — as Pitt women’s soccer team pulled out a frantic 5-4 victory against Loyola Marymount on Friday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field as freshman forward Amanda West began her college career with a hat-trick, including netting the game-winner in the 84th minute.

1-0😎#H2P pic.twitter.com/9WTbQlvikW

— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) August 24, 2019

• The Panthers were able to get on the board first in the 12^th minute as sophomore Anna Rico drew a foul just outside the box to earn a free kick. On the ensuing attempt, Rico touched a pass to Athalie Palomo who buried her first career goal into the upper left corner of the net.
• Loyola Marmount didn’t waste much time to get the equalizer as in the 22^nd minute, Simone Handy took a shot that was partially blocked by a Pitt defender and found the upper left corner.
• The Lions took the 2-1 lead in the 30^th minute as Ali King headed home a cross off the foot of Simone Handy.
• In the 48^th minute, Amanda West finished off her first career goal as Anna Rico crossed a great ball into the box where West buried the ball into the left corner of the net to tie the game, 2-2.
• After the Panthers tied the game, the Lions regained the lead in the 62^nd minute as Jackie Fiacco finished off a loose ball into the left corner of the Pitt goal.
• Pitt came right back to tie the game, 3-3, in the 65^th minute as Amanda West drew a foul inside the box to earn a penalty shot. On the ensuing penalty shot, West buried her second goal of the game into the left corner of the net.
• The lead went back to the visitors in the 70^th minute as Maki Kono blasted one past the outstretched arm of Amaia Pena into the upper left corner of the goal from 25 yards out, giving the Lions the 4-3 edge.
• Pitt responded quickly with the equalizer in the 82^nd minute as Juliana Vazquez netted her first goal of the season as she buried a rebound after a hard shot from West.
• Two minutes later, West was able to send the fans home happy as she netted the eventual game-winner and her third of the game to give Pitt the 5-4 victory. West used her speed to get free down the left flank before dribbling into the box and beating the keeper to the lower right corner for the goal.

Inside the numbers

• The win marks the third straight season opening victory for the Panthers.
• Pitt improves to 14-7-3 overall in season openers and 8-0-2 when they open up their regular season on home turf.
• The Panthers now own the 1-0-0 record against Loyola Marymount in the all-time series.
• Freshman Amanda West finished off her impressive debut with three goals and an assist as she becomes the first freshman in program history to score a hat-trick in her collegiate debut.
• West also becomes the first Panther since 2015 to net a hat-trick in a game. Her seven-points are the most in a game since 2011 when Netta Agredano netted seven against St. Francis (PA).
• Freshman Athalie Palomo scored her first career goal in the victory.
• Senior captain Juliana Vazquez scored the third goal of her career in the second half.
• Anna Rico finished off her night with two assists and two shots in the win, marking her first career multi-assist game for the Panthers.
• Head coach Randy Waldrum now has 404 career head coaching victories, ranking 14^th in NCAA history.
• Loyola Marymount held the slim 14-11 edge in shots for the match.
• Amaia Pena finished off her night with four saves while her counterpart Lee Erickson finished with five in the loss.
• Six Panthers earned their first career start on Friday night, Mackenzie Edwards, Margret Arnadottir, Amanda West, Anna Bout, Athalie Palomo and Krystyna Rytel.

UP NEXT

• The Panthers will return to the pitch on Sunday afternoon as they hit the road to Lewisburg, PA to take on the Bucknell Bison at 1:00 pm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MATCH DAY UPDATES

84’ | Pitt GOALLLLLL!! Freshman Amanda West nets her first career HAT-TRICK

48’ | Pitt GOALLLLL!!! Freshman Amanda West buries her first career goal after a great feed from Anna Rico!

Pitt 2, LMU 2#H2P pic.twitter.com/QijkVQTTu4

— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) August 24, 2019

Pitt GOALLLLL!!! Freshman Amanda West buries her first career goal after a great feed from Anna Rico!

 

30’ | LMU takes the 2-1 lead on a header goal by Ali King.

22’ | Loyola Marymount gets the equalizer.

Pitt takes 1-0 lead — Athalie Palomo with the goal…

Goal 1️⃣ for the freshman @athalie17!

19’ | Pitt 1, LMU 0

💻: https://t.co/lOAjtgQ9mK#H2P pic.twitter.com/TFdPq4w5IZ

— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) August 23, 2019

PREVIEW

It’s the opening match of the season for the Pitt women’s squad which has been retooled after a very busy offseason for coach Randy Waldrum and his staff. The Pitt women now have 17 of 21 players on its roster who are freshman.

Be sure to check out Mark Goodman‘s preview of Pitt women’s soccer team posted on Thursday.

Pitt Women Excited for a Fresh Start

 

• We will provide scores and post-game recap on this thread.
• Friday night’s home opener can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN or the WatchESPN app as Pittsburgh Soccer Now‘s Rachael McKriger will be providing color commentary.
  • Pitt vs. Loyola Marymount
• Live stats will also be available via PittsburghPanthers.com
• Live updates of the game will also be provided on Twitter @Pitt_WSOC

LAST TIME OUT

• Pitt finished off their final tune-up of the preseason on Sunday afternoon as they posted a 2-2 draw on the road against a tough Kent State squad that was picked to finish third in the MAC preseason coaches’ poll. Freshman Amanda West netted both goals for the Panthers in the draw.

SCOUTING LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

• The Lions are coming off a 3-13-4 season under eighth year head coach Michelle Myers.
• Offensively, Loyola Marymount returns second leading scorer Maki Kono, who posted three goals and one assist for seven points during the 2018 season. Also returning for the Lions are starters Jayln Lupo, who finished last season with two goals and two assists, Ali King, who recorded two goals in 2018, and Skylar Robledo.
• Loyola Marymount will look to solidify their goalkeeper position after losing starter Charlee Pruitt, but return Lee Erickson, who saw action in one game last season for the Lions.

THE SERIES WITH LOYOLA MARYMOUNT

• This will be the first meeting between the two clubs in program history.
• Pitt will face four more opponents this season for the first time, including matchups against Dartmouth (Aug. 30), Massachusetts (Sept. 1), Rhode Island (Sept. 6) and Saint Joseph’s (Sept. 8).

SEASON OPENER SUCCESS

• The Panthers have been known to have success in season openers over their 23-year existence as they own an overall record of 13-7-3 in those contests.
• Over their last 10 season openers, the Panthers own a 7-0-3 record including winning two straight season opening contests.
• When Pitt opens up their regular season on their home field, they own a dominant 7-0-2 record all-time while outscoring their opponents 18-6 in those contests.

FRESH FACES

• The Panthers start the 2019 season with 21 new players on the roster, including 17 incoming freshmen and three transfers.
• Junior Hollie Olding (Kentucky) joins Pitt after a pair of impressive seasons with the Wildcats and is joined by sophomores Danielle Maggio (Charleston Southern), and Kate McKay (Elon). Olding, Maggio and McKay combined to net seven goals and two assists a season ago.
• Out of the 17 incoming freshmen, nine are from the state of Pennsylvania, four are international, two are from New Jersey and one player comes from Michigan and Texas.

INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE

• Four newcomers to the Pitt squad bring international experience to the roster this season after appearing in matches for their national teams over the past couple of seasons.
• Junior Hollie Olding most recently laced up for the U19 England squad while also helping England advance to the semifinals in the U17 Women’s World Cup.
• Incoming freshman Athalie Palomo brings in playing experience with the Mexico U-20 National Team, where she was one of the youngest players on the team that placed 11th overall at the 2018 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup in France.
• Freshmen Stefania Tryggvadottir and Margret Arnadottir join the Panthers after stints with the U17 and U19 Icelandic National Teams. Tryggvadottir also spent time playing for the Reykjavik Club HK/Vikingur U17 team, helping them win the ReyCup championship and Reykjavikurmot championship. Arnadottir spent time with Por/KA in the European Champions League and has helped the team win two championship titles while garnering multiple MVP honors.

ACC GAUNTLET

• The Panthers will have yet another challenging conference schedule in the ACC, facing ranked opponents in five of their final seven games of the season and another two that are receiving votes in the polls.
• Pitt will face four of those teams at Ambrose Urbanic Field, going against Boston College on Oct. 10, No. 2 North Carolina on Oct. 13, No. 21 NC State on Oct. 19 and No. 25 Virginia Tech on Oct. 31.
• Pitt will travel on the road to face No. 1 Florida State on Oct. 5, No. 23 Wake Forest on Oct. 24 and Clemson on Oct. 27.

NEW YEAR, DIFFERENT LOOK

• In April, Pitt Athletics, in collaboration with Nike, introduced its new colors, secondary logos, typeface and fonts as a part of a rebranding effort department wide.
• As a part of the rebranding, the program released new kits for both home and away matches which include the new colors, font and updated crest.
• The program also unveiled a new AstroTurf® playing surface at Ambrose Urbanic Field in a continuing effort to elevate athletic facilities and improve the student-athlete experience.
• The new field includes the updated colors and markings and features LigaTurf RS Pro II turf, which has been used for elite pitches around the globe.

UP NEXT

• The Panthers hit the road for three straight, starting on Sunday afternoon as they head to Lewisburg, PA to take on the Bucknell Bison at 1:00 pm.