Preview: Pitt vs No. 19 Virginia Tech, 7 p.m.

ACC Women’s Soccer 

Pitt (8-3-0, 1-2-0) vs No. 19 Virginia Tech (7-2-2, 1-0-2)

Saturday, October 2, 2021 |  7 p.m.  | Ambrose Urbanic Field

Game Stats: http://bit.ly/PittWSOCStats | Broadcast/Live Stream: http://es.pn/3F9BJQX

Gameday Updates 

Look for lineups to be posted here along with game’s key highlights/updates.

PSN Pitt Women’s Soccer Coverage 

Pitt tops Miami, 2-0, for first ACC win

Pitt Game Notes  

SCOUTING NO. 19 VIRGINIA TECH

• The Hokies are unbeaten in ACC play with a 1-0 home shutout of NC State and two draws against then-No. 4 North Carolina (2-2) and No. 2 Duke (1-1) last week.
• Virginia Tech also owns a win at No. 12 South Carolina with its only losses to No. 9 Santa Clara and at Cincinnati.
• Senior midfielder Emily Gray and redshirt-junior forward Nicole Kozlova both have a team-high seven goals, tied for the sixth-most in the ACC and combined more than half the goals the whole team has scored (25).
• Gray also has four assists to place sixth in the ACC in points (18).
• Sophomore Alia Skinner was named ACC Co-Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday after making a combined 22 saves against Duke and North Carolina. Starting every game this year, Skinner has a 0.91 goals against average, 37 saves and four shutouts.

THE SERIES

• Virginia Tech is undefeated (6-0-1) in the all-time series.
• The last six meetings have been ACC league games.
• Pitt has been much more competitive in games at Ambrose Urbanic Field, with a 2-2 time on Sept. 21, 2017 and 1-0 loss on Halloween in 2019.

FIRST ACC WIN

• Pitt picked its first ACC victory of the season Sunday with a 2-0 win at Miami.
• After a scoreless first half, Amanda West punched in the game-winning goal off a feed into the box from Ellie Coffield in the 51st minute.
• Leah Pais provided the insurance goal in the 74th minute, pouncing on a rebound from a shot by West & scoring deep in the left side of the box.
• Katherine Robinson posted her third shutout of the season with six saves.
• Pitt has won the last two games against Miami by 2-0 scores (last year in Pittsburgh, Oct. 18) and secured its first win in Coral Gables since Oct. 12, 2001 (2-1 with Miami ranked No. 24).
• The Panthers have scored seven of the last eight goals against the Hurricanes game dating back to the Sept. 29, 2019 game at Miami.
• Pitt had the advantage in shots (22-11) and shots on goal (7-6) while Miami had all eight corner kicks of the game.

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 first four games in all three years and in the first five games the last two seasons.
• In season-openers, she has averaged four points per game (seven against Loyola Marymount in 2019, two at App State and three against Tulsa).
• She scored the game-winning goal and added an assist in the 2-0 win at Miami.
• With only 42 career games played, she already ranks among the top all-time scorers in program history.
• First in points (77), 21 ahead of Roosa Arvas (2012-14).
• First in career goals (29), six ahead of Ashley Cuba (2009-12).
• Second in assists (19), one behind Arvas.
• First in career game-winning goals (11), two ahead of Ashley Habbel (2006-09).
• First in career three-points plus games (12), five ahead of Cande Ruiz (1998-01).
• First in points per game (1.83) and goals per game (.69).

RPI RANKINGS

• Pitt is currently slotted at No. 62 in the RPI rankings (.583 value).
• The Panthers improved nine spots from the first release of the rankings last Monday.
• The Panthers three losses have come at No. 1 Florida State and No. 49 Clemson and home to No. 10 TCU and own a top-75 win at No. 67 Oklahoma State.
• With seven ACC contests left, the Panthers have plenty of top-ranked opponents to bump up its RPI ranking with top-25 matchups against No. 2 Duke, No. 3 North Carolina and No. 18 Virginia Tech, top-50 games against No. 29 Boston College and No. 36 Wake Forest and a top-75 contest versus No. 57 NC State.

HISTORIC OFFENSE

• The Panthers have displayed a high-powered offense to start the season with 3+ goals scored in six wins.
• Entering the week, Pitt ranked in the nation sixth in assists per game (3.36), 13th in points per game (8.82), 25th in scoring offense (2.73 goals per game), 26th in shots per game (18.82) and 32nd in shots on goal per game (8.55).
• Almost halfway through the regular season, the team already ranks among the best ever in program history for single-season stats:

o   First in total assists (37).

o   Third in points (97).

o   Third in goals (30).

STOUT DEFENSE

• While getting attention for its offense, Pitt has featured an impressive defense.
• The Panthers have allowed 10 goals in 11 games this season with an average of 11.0 shots and 4.4 shots on goal allowed per game.
• Entering the week, Pitt ranked in the nation 18th in shutout percentage (.636).
• The squad is tied for the second-most shutouts (seven) in a single-season.

HOMETOWN HEROES DEBUT

• Freshmen and Pittsburgh locals Ellie Coffield and Sarah Schupansky have made instant impacts to start their careers.
• Schupansky became the second Panther to reach double-digit points and now leads the team in points (16) while being tied for goals (six) with West.
• She is also third in assists (four).
• Coffield is tied for the team lead in assists (five) with Anna Bout and is also third in points (nine) with two goals.
• 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.
• Schupansky has two braces already (Cleveland State and Towson).
• Coffield scored her first goal at Ambrose Urbanic Field against NJIT.
• Coffield assisted on the game-winning goal at Miami.
• 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.