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Second half surge thrusts Pitt women to 2-0 win vs Miami on Senior Day

Dixon Veltri -- Photo Courtesy Pitt Athletics
ACC Women’s Soccer

FINAL: Pitt 2, Miami 0

 GAME STATS

 

GAME SUMMARY

Pitt women’s soccer (9-3-0, 3-3-0) shut out Miami (0-7-0, 0-6-0) 2-0 on Senior Day Sunday afternoon at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Kate McKay headed in a corner kick from Hailey Davidson in the 67th minute for the game-winning goal.

Amanda West added an insurance goal in the 78th minute. After a pass from Leah Pais was deflected, West gathered the ball, made a move into the middle of the box to get past a defender and placed the shot in the bottom left corner of the net past the diving goalkeeper.

ED THOMPSON PHOTO GALLERY 

NEWS AND NOTES

  • The lone senior on the team, Dixon Veltri started at midfield and was honored with a pre-game ceremony with a socially distant photo with her family and the Pitt coaching staff.
  • The nine wins this season are the second-most in program history, as the 2015 squad went 10-7-1.
  • The team has scored 29 goals this year, tied with the 2006 team for second-most in a single-season in school history.
  • West moved ahead of Cande Ruiz (1998) for the second-most single-season points (28) in program history and extended her single-season record for goals to 12.
  • West is one point away from tying her single-season record (29) that she set last year.
  • Caitlyn Lazzarini (2-1-0) made two saves for her first shutout of the season and second of her collegiate career.
  • Pitt had the decisive advantage in shots (24-8) and shots on goal (8-2) and also an edge in corner kicks (8-6).
  • West placed four of a game-high and career-high 11 shots on goal.
  • Athalie Palomo, Emily Yaple and Pais each had three shots with one on goal.

UP NEXT

Pitt faces Syracuse a second time this season on the road in a non-conference matchup next Sunday at 1 p.m.

GAMEDAY UPDATES

Pitt wins, 2-0 on Senior Day!

Two second half goals pushed the Panthers to its ninth win of the season and to 3-3 record in ACC play.

GAME NOTES FROM PITT ATHLETICS 

SENIOR DAY

  • Pitt’s lone senior, Dixon Veltri, will be honored with a pregame ceremony before the game.
  • A native of Pittsburgh (Fox Chapel High School graduate), Veltri started her career at UNCW but transferred to Pitt after her freshman season in 2017.
  • A three-year letterwinner for the Panthers, she has started in 19 of 42 games played as a midfielder.
  • She has recorded one career goal and two assists with six of 22 shots placed on goal.
  • A two-time ACC Honor Roll selection, Dixon graduates this semester with a degree in Finance, minor in Economics and certificate in Sustainability.

FAN ATTENDANCE

  • Only the family and friends of the Pitt players are allowed into Ambrose Urbanic Field for the game as 50 spectators max are allowed per local laws and university guidelines.
  • Stickers are pre-marked on the bleachers to maximize social distance, and fans are required are to wear face coverings at all times in order to be in the facility.

LAST TIME OUT: NO. 2 FLORIDA STATE

  • Pitt fell 4-1 to No. 2 Florida State Thursday night.
  • After Florida State scored the game’s first goal in the 10th minute, Madison Clayton scored her first collegiate goal with 45 seconds left on a pass from Amanda West.
  • Florida State scored the game-winning goal in the 55th minute, as Kristina Lynch headed in a ball from a few yards out in the left side of the box. The goal was initially waved off to an offside call, but was later added by the referees.
  • Florida State had the advantage in shots (21-3) and corner kicks (4-1).
  • All three Panthers shots were placed on goal.

TOP MARKS IN THE COUNTRY

  • With the strong start to the season, the team ranks among the best in Division I in several categories.
  • The Panthers lead the nation in total points (76), goals (27) and assists (22).
  • They rank in the top-20 in other team statistics: third in scoring offense (2.45 goals per game), 13th in shots on goal per game (7.0), 15th in shots per game (14.36) and 20th in corner kicks per game (5.9), shot accuracy (0.487) and penalty kicks per game (0.857).

LEADING SCORER IN THE NATION, AMANDA WEST

  • West leads the nation in goals (11), game-winning goals (four) and points (26) while ranking tied for second in assists (four) with teammate Kate McKay.
  • She hit the ground running this season, just like she did last year, with a goal in the first seven games for the longest goal-scoring streak in program history.
  • With only 28 career games played, she already ranks among the top all-time scorers in program history.

o   First in points (55), four ahead of Ashley Cuba (2009-12).

o   Second in career goals (21), two behind Cuba.

o   Tied for third in assists (13) with Liz Carroll (2007-10).

  • She has recorded nine 3+ point games, the most in school history.
  • Her 26 points this year rank tied for second with Cande Ruiz (1998) and three behind her total last year.
  • Her 11 goals this fall are most in a single-season, one ahead of her total last year and Ruiz in 1998.
  • She accomplished things in 2019 that no other Panther has done.
  • She was named to the United Soccer Coaches’ All-Atlantic Region Third-Team, becoming the second-ever Panther to receive all-region honors.
  • She became the first Pitt women’s soccer player to receive All-ACC honors when she was named to the third and all-freshmen teams.
  • She broke the school’s all-time single-season points record last year with 29.
  • Also, she passed Ruiz (1998) at 26 for the most and also tied Ruiz for the most goals in one year with 10.
  • In assists, she tied with Charity McClure (1998) and Katelyn Ruhe (2010) for the single-season record.

ACC OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK­

  • West was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week this Tuesday.
  • She scored two goals each in two Pitt home victories last week against Boston College (4-3) and Navy.

NATIONALLY RANKED

  • Pitt was slotted at No. 14 two weeks ago of the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll.
  • The previous week the Panthers were ranked No. 12, the first ranking in the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll in program history.
  • The Panthers were one of six ACC teams ranked.
  • The poll has condensed rankings at this time, with only 15 teams ranked that have played a game this season.
  • Head coach Randy Waldrum has now led five schools to be nationally ranked: Tulsa men’s and women’s soccer, Baylor and Notre Dame in addition to Pitt.

BEST START IN PROGRAM HISTORY

  • Pitt started the season 6-0 for the first time in program history.
  • The six victories to start the season was the second-longest winning-streak in school history, as the 2015 team rattled off eight wins in a row.
  • The Panthers defeated the Citadel twice on the road, 2-1 in overtime and 1-0. Previously, Pitt has beaten Syracuse 2-0 in the home and ACC opener, 1-0 in overtime at Navy and Appalachian State twice on the road in the first week of the year with 4-0 and 7-1 victories.
  • The Panthers have a 17-2 goal aggregate for the season, best in the nation.
  • Playing 548 minutes and 20 seconds in the six-game span, the Panthers only trailed in 11 minutes and 36 seconds, all in the 2-1 comeback win at the Citadel.
  • Eight Panthers scored the 17 combined goals.
  • The Panthers put limited pressure on their goalkeepers with an average of 1.5 saves per game.
  • West scored three-straight game-winning goals, something no other Panther in program history has done before.
  • West converted two golden goals off penalty kicks at Navy and the Citadel in back-to-back games.
  • Against the Orange, the Panthers had a dominate advantage in shots (27-4) and shots on goals (12-1).
  • The season-opening shutout at the Mountaineers was the biggest-ever margin of victory in a season-opener.
  • The Panthers had not defeated an opponent by 4+ goals since a 6-1 victory over St. John’s on Oct. 9, 2011.

MOVING ON UP THE ALL-TIME HEAD COACH WINS LIST

  • Recording his 416th career win last Sunday in 27 years at the Division I level, Randy Waldrum passed  David Lombardo (Keene State and James Madison, 35 Years) and Chris Petrucelli (Notre Dame, Texas and SMU, 30 Years) for eighth all-time.
  • Petrucelli’s squad at SMU is currently idle this fall, and Lombardo retired after the 2017 season.
  • Waldrum currently ranks seventh among active head coaches.

SCOUTING MIAMI

  • The Hurricanes have dropped all six games, including five in play, this year with a difficult schedule so far with every game either coming against a ranked team or on the road.
  • Miami fell 8-2 to Virginia Tech Thursday, scoring its first goal of the season.
  • The Hurricanes have allowed an ACC-high 25 goals for a 4.17 goals-against average.
  • Miami is almost as young of a team as Pitt with 10 true freshmen and only four seniors and four juniors.

THE SERIES

  • Miami has the edge against Pitt with a 6-2-1 record in the all-time series.
  • The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie in last year’s matchup in Miami on Sept. 29.
  • The last five meetings have been ACC league games, with the Hurricanes winning three times.
  • Pitt’s last ACC victory came against Miami at home 3-2 (2OT) on Oct. 19, 2017.

NEW STARTING GOALKEEPER

  • The Panthers replace two-year starting goalkeeper Amaia Pena, who signed a professional contract with Athletic Club Femenino (Spain).
  • Pitt has three goalkeepers on the rosterRobinson, Caitlyn Lazzarini and Gabriella Neibart.
  • Robinson, the most experienced of the trio, seized the job at the beginning of the season and started the first eight games with only eight goals allowed and 21 saves in 754 minutes played.
  • She has recorded three shutouts, including back-to-back against Syracuse and Navy.
  • Lazzarini has started the last two games and previously relieved Robinson in both App State games and also against Boston College last Thursday in the second half.
  • She has made six saves in 241 minutes.
  • Prior to this season, Robinson made eight starts in 12 games played over two seasons. Last year she registered a 0-1-1 record with a 2.20 goals against average and eight saves.
  • Lazzarini played in four games with three starts last year as a freshman and recorded a 1-2-0 record, 0.95 goals against average and eight saves.

O CANADA

  • Waldrum and his staff have gone north of the border the last two years to find top talent to fill out the roster.
  • Six players grew up playing in the Canadian youth soccer system: Chantelle Parker (Milton, Ontario), Leah Pais (Mississagua, Ontario), West (Burlington, Ontario), Anna Bout (Cambridge, Ontario), Chloe Minas (Montreal, Quebec) and Bex Bartosh (Hiawatha First Nation, Ontario).
  • Pais ranks tied for second with Anna Rico on the team in scoring with four goals and 10 points.
  • Bout and Minas have started in the midfield in each game, and Bout scored her first collegiate goal at Appalachian State.
  • Parker has started the last four games at forward.

 

John Krysinsky has covered soccer and other sports for many years for various publications and media outlets. He is also author of 'Miracle on the Mon' -- a book about the Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC, which chronicles the club, particularly the early years of Highmark Stadium with the narrative leading up to and centered around a remarkable match that helped provide a spark for the franchise. John has covered sports for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, DK Pittsburgh Sports, Pittsburgh Sports Report, has served as color commentator on Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC broadcasts, and worked with OPTA Stats and broadcast teams for US Open Cup and International Champions Cup matches held in the US. Krysinsky also served as the Head Men’s Soccer Coach at his alma mater, Point Park University, where he led the Pioneers to the first-ever winning seasons and playoff berths (1996-98); head coach of North Catholic boys (2007-08), associate head coach of Shady Side Academy boys (2009-2014).

Glory on the Grass

Riverhounds MF Kenardo Forbes

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