Pittsburgh, Pa. — Amanda West might only be a sophomore at the University of Pittsburgh, but her name is already in the record books. West, a striker, made Pitt women’s soccer program history by scoring two goals against Navy on Sunday.
West surpassed the all-time career points mark of 52. Now, she has 54 points and it will certainly increase over the next few years as a Pittsburgh Panther.
West scored the second and fourth goals against Navy. Her first goal was assisted by Emily Yaple and Chantelle Parker in the first half. Then, in the second half, West extended the Panthers’ lead against Navy with a penalty kick goal.
Anna Rico capitalized off an excellent week, scoring yet another eye-turning goal for the Panthers just 16 minutes into the match. Meanwhile, Leah Pais added to her goal-scoring tally this season, as her goal was assisted by defender Kate McKay.
Navy did notch one goal, leaving the Pittsburgh defense and goalkeeper Caitlyn Lazzarini — who started in place of the injured Kat Robinson — without a clean sheet. Caitlin Doran of Navy scored in the second half, with her goal being assisted by Sadie McCaleb.
After the match, Panthers head coach Randy Waldrum said the Panthers scored “some really nice goals.”
“I thought we were really good in the first half,” Waldrum said. “We played really well, we were sharp. We put the game away in the first half. It was a little bit sloppy in the second half. Quite frankly I wasn’t quite happy with the quality in the second half. We got some other players some time, which was good. We haven’t been able to do that in the last couple of weeks.”
Another victory filled with an amazing goal by @anna_rico8, two by @amanda_westt & another Panther (Leah Pais) getting in on the action! #H2P pic.twitter.com/l0zLzQ2cnD
— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) October 11, 2020
Growth ahead of a tough ACC slew of games
The road for the Panthers has been mixed with non-conference and conference games. The ACC used to be completely win-less for the Panthers. Now, with a rejuvenated team, the Panthers are finding ways to win. They have two ACC wins and two losses.
Next up is a tough contest against No. 2 ranked Florida State on Thursday.
Waldrum said that the growth of the team is certainly showing.
“I think we clearly have improved,” Waldrum said. “We needed anything we could to get the game winner a few weeks back [against Navy in September]. I think over these few weeks we’ve gotten better and better. It does show some growth in our team. Hopefully that helps us the rest of the way going into the ACC this coming week.”
Of course, Waldrum complimented West on her achievement for the Panthers.
“She’s obviously been a goal scorer for us. That’s what we needed when we saw her on the recruiting trail… I’m really proud of her,” Waldrum said. “She just finds a way to get goals. Today, the first goal she scored off the cross, I thought she struck really well the first time. Obviously, another penalty for her, and she’s been very good on those for us. She’s a really important piece with what we’re trying to build here.”
Have we said how lucky we are to be led by one of the all-time greats? Congrats to Randy Waldrum for getting win number 4️⃣1️⃣6️⃣ that moves him into 8th place among all-time DI @NCAASoccer coaches‼️#H2P pic.twitter.com/wsUDYFwj3b
— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) October 11, 2020
What’s next for the Panthers?
Pittsburgh has two more home matches left in a four-straight homestand at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Florida State comes to Pittsburgh on Thursday, with kick-off slated for 6 p.m. The match will air on the ACC Network.
Finishing up the slew of home matches, Pittsburgh will host the University of Miami on Oct. 18, at 1:30 p.m.