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FINAL: Duke 5, Pitt 0

ACC Women’s Soccer

FINAL: Duke 5, Pitt 0 

Game Stats

Match Summary  

Pitt women’s soccer’s (8-6-0, 1-5-0) fell 5-0 to No. 4 Duke (9-2-1, 3-2-1) Sunday afternoon at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

The Blue Devils took the lead in the ninth minute, heading in a ball from two yards out after a deflection following a corner kick put the ball on a silver plate for Duke.

Duke doubled its lead four minutes later with a goal from a set piece off a free kick from 10 yards above the box.

The Blue Devils added another quick pair of goals in the second half, striking in the 51st minute with the next goal coming five minutes later. The last goal came with 15 seconds left in the game.

Pitt returns to action with another road game next Saturday at 7 p.m. against long-time foe Syracuse.

NEWS AND NOTES

  • Katherine Robinson made three saves, and Caitlyn Lazzarini made four saves playing the final 23 minutes.
  • Duke had the advantage in shots (17-3), shots in goals (12-1) and corner kicks (10-2).
  • Pitt has played three-straight games against top-20 ACC opponents (No. 19 Virginia Tech, No. 5 North Carolina and No. 4 Duke).
  • Mackenzie Evers had the Panthers’ shot on goal.

Preview 

The Panthers played a valiant defensive game on Thursday night, but it wasn’t enough against No. 3 North Carolina. Now Pitt faces No. 4 Duke on the road in a short turnaround game.

Despite a solid start to the season in non-conference play, Pitt is still searching for a signature win in the ACC that could help elevate their standing, not only in the conference, but also as they make a case to earn an at-large bid in the NCAA tournament.  Right now, in all likelihood, the Panthers would be on the outside looking in.  The Panthers are currently slotted at No. 66 in the RPI rankings (.579 value). This is down four spots from last week, the Panthers debuted at 71 in the first release of the rankings last Monday. All of the Panthers’ five losses have come to top-50 opponents: at No. 1 Florida State and No. 50 Clemson and home to No. 3 North Carolina, No. 11 TCU and No. 18 Virginia Tech.

Pitt has been missing it’s top scorer Amanda West for numerous stretches of the season. West has only played in eight of Pitt’s 13 matches this season, including missing the last two key matches against ranked opponents Virginia Tech and North Carolina, when they could have used her added presence at the top of the attack. (See more on West’s accomplishments as a Panther in the Pitt Game Notes section below) 

The Blue Devils were dealt their second loss of the season and first home defeat on Thursday, Oct. 7, falling to NC State in double overtime, 2-1. Duke entered Thursday’s match with a 6-0-0 record at Koskinen Stadium this season and was 8-0-1 over its last nine home games dating back to September 2020.

PSN’s Pitt women’s coverage 

Replay-aided UNC goal spoils Pitt’s upset bid

Panthers drop ACC match to Hokies, 2-1

Pitt Game Notes 

THE SERIES

  • Duke has won all five games in the all-time series.
  • The two schools haven’t played since 2017’s matchup on Sept. 24, a 2-0 Blue Devils decision in Durham, N.C.

SCOUTING NO. 4 DUKE

  • The Blue Devils dropped their last game 2-1 in double overtime at home to NC State despite outshooting the Wolfpack 21-6.
  • Duke gave North Carolina its only loss of the season so far with a 1-0 win in Chapel Hill to open ACC play and also have a victory over Syracuse (2-0), a road tie (1-1) to (then-RV) Virginia Tech and loss (1-0) at No. 7 Virginia.
  • Freshman forward Michelle Cooper has team-highs of six goals and 15 points despite missing all of ACC action until returning Thursday.
  • Junior goalkeeper Ruthie Jones has started every game and has 30 saves, a 0.65 goals against average and three shutouts (two team combined shutouts as well).

RPI RANKINGS

  • Pitt is currently slotted at No. 66 in the RPI rankings (.579 value).
  • Down four spots from last week, the Panthers debuted at 71 in the first release of the rankings last Monday.
  • All of the Panthers’ five losses have come to top-50 opponents: at No. 1 Florida State and No. 50 Clemson and home to No. 3 North Carolina, No. 11 TCU and No. 18 Virginia Tech.
  • Pitt owns a top-75 win at No. 70 Oklahoma State.
  • With five ACC contests left, the Panthers have plenty of top-ranked opponents to bump up its RPI ranking with a top-25 matchup against No. 2 Duke, top-50 games against No. 44 Wake Forest and top-75 contests versus No. 56 Boston College and No. 62 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 eighth in assists per game (3.08), 16th in points per game (8.25), 25th in scoring offense (2.58 goals per game), 27th in shots per game (18.42) and 36th in shots on goal per game (8.25).
  • Almost halfway through the regular season, the team already ranks among the best ever in program history for single-season stats:
    • First in total assists (37).
    • Third in points (99).
    • Third in goals (31).

STOUT DEFENSE

  • While getting attention for its offense, Pitt has featured an impressive defense.
  • The Panthers have allowed 13 goals in 13 games this season with an average of 12.2 shots and 5.0 shots on goal allowed per game.
  • Entering the week, Pitt ranked in the nation 21st in shutout percentage (.583).
  • The squad is tied for the second-most shutouts (seven) in a single-season.

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).

HOMETOWN HEROES DEBUT

  • Freshmen and Pittsburgh locals Ellie Coffield and Sarah Schupansky have made instant impacts to start their careers.
  • In TopDrawerSoccer’s Top-100 Freshman Rankings released this week, Schupansky is ranked at No. 59 while Coffield is slotted at No. 78.
  • 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.

Glory on the Grass

Riverhounds MF Kenardo Forbes

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