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FINAL: Pitt 3, St. Joseph 0

NCAA Women’s Soccer

FINAL Pitt 3, St. Joseph’s 0

Game Stats

Summary

Pitt women’s soccer team continues its great start to the season, with a strong second half performance to defeat St. Joseph, 3-0, in Philadelphia on Thursday evening.

Amanda West, Landy Mertz and Sarah Sonnett each scored in the second half to help Pitt pull away after a scoreless first half.

“I felt the first have we didn’t come out with the intensity I expected,” said Pitt head coach Randy Waldrum. “We just weren’t as sharp as we needed to be. We talked about it at the half and put a much better second half together. I though Mackenzie Evers and Leah Pais came on and gave us some good minutes as did Emily Harrigan. Great seeing West and Mertz continue to get goals and Sarah Sinnott scored a great third goal for us. Overall pleased with the way we handled the game on the road.”

The Panthers dominated most of the match, owning a 21-6 edge in shots (13-2 on frame), 7-1 on corners,

With the win, Pitt improves to 5-0 overall. The Panthers will face TCU on Sunday at Ambrose Urbanic Field (11 a.m. kickoff).

Gameday Updates

Look for starting lineups and game updates to be posted here.

FINAL:  PITT 3, SJU 0

Pitt now improves to 5-0 with a 3-0 road shut out.

87′ — PITT 3, SJU 0

75′ — Pitt goes up 2-0.

HALF — PITT 0, SJU 0

Pitt’s first game without a 1st half goal. An 11-2 shots advantage, including 7-1 in shots on goal, with all three corner kicks of the game.

32′ — Leah Pais heads the Panthers’ 6th shot of the game on goal.

25′ — Amanda West nearly heads in a ball deep in the box off a Landy Mertz cross. Panthers keep generating quality scoring chances.

PSN’s recent Pitt women’s soccer coverage

Pitt women’s soccer ranked 20th in latest United Soccer Coaches poll

Strong start fuels second-straight 5-0 shutout victory for Pitt women

Pitt Game Notes 

THE SERIES

  • Pitt won the only matchup 2-0 at home on Sept. 8, 2019.
  • Amanda West scored the game-winning goal on a penalty kick in the 73rd minute.
  • The Panthers had a 20-6 shots advantage in the game, and Caitlyn Lazzarini made three saves for the shutout in her first collegiate start.
  • The Panthers are 15-15-1 against current Atlantic 10 Conference members: Duquesne 11-4-0, St. Bonaventure 2-1-0, La Salle 1-1-0, Rhode Island 0-0-1, Massachusetts 0-1-0, Dayton 0-1-0, Richmond 0-2-0 and VCU 1-5-0.

SCOUTING SAINT JOSEPH’S

  • The Hawks have been shutout in all four games played with losses at Towson (3-0) and Princeton (3-0) and to St. John’s (5-0) and a tie to Fairleigh Dickinson at home.
  • Picked eighth (out of 14) in the A-10 Coaches’ Preseason Poll, Saint Joseph’s returns 24 letterwinners including 10 starters from last year’s squad that went 3-8-2, 2-5-1 in a spring-only schedule.
  • Senior forward Izzy Greene led the team in scoring last year with four goals and nine points.

IN THE POLLS

  • Pitt is No. 20 in the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll with 199 points, which was announced Tuesday.
  • Making their debut in the rankings in the 2021 season, the Panthers received the most points (53) outside of the top-25 in the previous week.
  • Pitt is one of six ACC teams in the poll: No. 1 Florida State, No. 2 UNC, No. 3 Virginia, No. 5 Duke and No. 15 Clemson.
  • Pitt is also tabbed No. 21 in the TopDrawerSoccer Poll after being slotted at No. 23 the previous week.
  • The Panthers are receiving the most votes outside of the ranked teams in the College Soccer News Poll.
  • Last year, Pitt earned its first ranking in the United Soccer Coaches’ Poll in program history, debuting at No. 12 in the first poll of the season on Sept. 22 and then No. 14 in the next week’s poll.
  • The only other time in program history Pitt was ranked was in 2009, selected No. 25 by Soccer America after starting 4-0.
  • Head coach Randy Waldrum has led five teams to be nationally ranked: Tulsa men’s and women’s soccer, Baylor and Notre Dame in addition to Pitt.

SUCCESSFUL HOMESTAND

  • Pitt opened home play at Ambrose Urbanic Field last week with a pair of 5-0 shutouts over Cleveland State (Thursday) and NJIT (Sunday) in the program’s first matchups against the two schools.
  • The first victory had the most goals and biggest margin of victory for a home-opener in program history.
  • Pitt has started 4-0 the last two years under Waldrum.
  • The Panthers are 8-1 in their last nine home games with the lone loss coming to No. 1 Florida State last year.
  • Against the Vikings, Sarah Schupansky recorded her first collegiate brace after coming off the bench.
  • Amanda West claimed another school record, recording her 10th career game-winning goal with the game’s first score in the 16th minute.
  • Bri Hilsenteger scored her first collegiate goal in the 47th minute, and Emily Yaple (20th minute) produced a goal for the second-straight game.
  • Against the Highlanders, Ellie Coffield recorded her second game-winning goal of the season and first score at Ambrose in the 17th minute.
  • West extended her goal-scoring streak to four games.
  • Landy Mertz, Anna Bout and Krystyna Rytel each scored their first goals of the season.
  • 29 Panthers played in the two games, including collegiate debuts by Elena Hinkson, Lacey Bernick, Katelyn Kauffman, Sara Darlington and Madison Vukas.

HOMETOWN HEROES DEBUT

  • Freshmen and Pittsburgh locals Ellie Coffield and Sarah Schupansky have made instant impacts to start their careers.
  • Schupansky is tied for the team lead in assists (three) and ranks second in goals (three) and points (nine).
  • Coffield is tied for second in assists (two) and goals (two) and third in points (six).
  • In the first game of the season, Coffield scored the game-winning goal over Tulsa on her first career shot in the 17th minute with Schupansky getting her first point with the primary assist.
  • Coffield finished with another assist on the final goal against the Golden Hurricane.
  • Coffield scored her first goal at Ambrose Urbanic Field against NJIT.
  • Schupansky scored the golden goal at Oklahoma State for her first collegiate goal, notching the game-winner 30 seconds into overtime, and also assisted on the tying goal in the second half to send the game into overtime.
  • She was named to the TopDrawerSoccer Team of the Week, and is just the third Panther to earn the award (Amanda West and Leah Pais).
  • Schupansky recorded her first brace against Cleveland State in just 31 minutes played.

THE PROGRAM’S GOAT, AMANDA WEST

  • In just a little over two years, Amanda West has proven to be the best player in the program’s history.
  • This preseason West became the first Panther to be selected the All-ACC Preseason Team.
  • To start the season, she earned the first ACC Offensive Player of the Week award.
  • She scored a goal to break the school record in goals along with an assist in the win over Tulsa and then notched the tying goal in the 3-2 overtime win of then-No. 16 Oklahoma State.
  • She has been selected for the weekly award in each of three seasons.
  • She has scored in each of the four three games in all three years.
  • In season-openers, she has averaged four points per game (seven against Loyola Marymount in 2019, two at App State and three against Tulsa).
  • With only 37 career games played, she already ranks among the top all-time scorers in program history.
  • First in points (72), 16 ahead of Roosa Arvas (2012-14).
  • First in career goals (27), four ahead of Ashley Cuba (2009-12).
  • Tied for second in assists (18) with Katelyn Ruhe (2008-11) and two behind Arvas.
  • Tied for first in career game-winning goals (nine) with Ashley Habbel (2006-09).
  • First in career three-points plus games (11), four ahead of Cande Ruiz (1998-01).
  • First in points per game (1.89) and goals per game (.71).
Related Topics

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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