At the start of the season, Pitt men’s soccer team had 10 returning starters, losing only one senior from the 2020-21 team that made it all the way to the NCAA College Cup, for the first time in program history.
The current squad has seen a few additional players provide quality minutes and breakout performances, but freshman Guilherme Feitosa may be the newcomer on the team making the biggest splash.
The native of Rio de Janero, Brazil who attended high school in France (Lucee Moulin de Preuilly) was honored by the Atlantic Coast Conference as Co-Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday after helping lead Pitt to two victories this past week with one goal and three assists.
Feitosa is the third Panther to be recognized by the league this season, joining Matt Bailey (Co-Offensive/Sept. 28) and Veljko Petkovic (Offensive/Aug. 31).
Against Cleveland State Oct. 5, Feitosa scored the first and eventual game-winning goal in the 4-0 victory.
G with the Goal ⚽
Jacquesson and Almeida with the assists 👊#H2P pic.twitter.com/yOyyZ66sdt
— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) October 5, 2021
He then tallied three assists in Pitt’s 3-2 victory over No. 3 Duke at home, etching his name in the record book for second all-time at Pitt for assists in a single game.
“It was hard for anybody to break right in,” Pitt’s Head Coach Jay Vidovich said after Feitosa’s big three assist performance on Saturday. “We already had a lot of experience. A lot of successes. He was probably the best player not playing.”
Feitosa has seven points for the year (2 goals, 3 assists) and is the second freshman this season to earn a weekly award by the ACC (Danny Flores, Virginia Tech). Feitosa joins Notre Dame’s Philip Quinton (Co-Offensive) and Daniel Russo (Defensive) as this week’s Players of the Week.
Now, it’s going to be hard for Vidovich and his staff to keep Feitosa out of the lineup.
“He knew that he was going to get his opportunities,” Vidovich added. “We believed in his talents. He kept getting better. Made the most of his first real chance at (2-0 win at) Clemson. We like his versatility. We thought about playing him at center back. He plays right back, could play the 10. He has that ability, talent. As he gets used to college soccer, he’s going to have a tremendous season, and career.
Pitt next travels to Notre Dame Saturday, Oct. 16 for a 7 p.m. kick-off at Alumni Stadium. Coverage will be live on ACCNX.