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FINAL: No. 10 Pitt 2, Virginia 2, OT

ACC Men’s Soccer

FINAL: Pitt 2, Virginia 2

GAME STATS

Match Summary

For the first 45 minutes, everything was going perfectly for No. 10 Pitt, but ACC foe Virginia rallied for two second half goals, including one with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation, then after neither team could find the game-winner in extra time, the matched ended in a 2-2 draw at Klöckner Stadium Friday evening.

How It Happened 

The Panthers registered the first two shots of the match with back-to-back attempts in the 15th minute. Both freshman Guilherme Feitosa and Noel put shots on net from outside the box, but Virginia (5-7-3, 2-4-1 ACC) goalkeeper Holden Brown saved both attempts and forced a Pitt corner.

Graduate student Nico Campuzano made two saves of his own in a two minute span, stopping two Virginia shots from Erik Kilosho and Leo Afonso in the 29th and 31st minute, respectively, to keep the match tied at 0-0.

Pitt broke the scoreless draw in the 35th minute, as Noel gathered a pass from Bailey just in front of the goalkeeper three yards out and connected with the back of the net. Noel added to his night with the second goal of the match with 28 seconds left in the first half, scoring from atop of the 18-yard box.

The Panthers led 6-3 in shots and 5-1 in corners after 45 minutes.

Virginia cut the Panther lead early in the second half, as a Pitt handball inside the box forced a penalty kick for the Cavaliers. Afonso converted the PK in the 54th minute to make it a 2-1 match.

Pitt nearly had a chance at a third goal in the 74th minute, as senior Rodrigo Almeida, freshman Michael Sullivan and Jacquesson totaled four shots in a 30 second span. Cavalier goalkeeper Brown stopped two shots and cleared the ball away from danger after Almeida’s second attempt.

With two minutes left, junior Mohammad Abualnadi was assessed his second yellow of the evening, putting Pitt to 10 men for the remainder of the match. In the 90th minute, graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend was given a yellow card with two seconds left in the match and the Cavaliers earned a corner. After the clock was pushed to five seconds, Virginia’s Will Citron headed the ball in goal off the corner to tie the match 2-2 and force overtime.

Both teams stayed aggressive on the offensive front in the first overtime with two shots each. The score remained the same after ten minutes of overtime play.

With 21 seconds left in overtime number two, Virginia’s Asparuh Slavov struck a hard shot toward the lower right corner of the goal, but Campuzano made a game-saving outstretched save to keep the match tied up.

Pitt finished with 19 shots to Virginia’s 18, while the Panthers edged the Cavaliers in corner kicks 7-6. Campuzano tallied a season-high six saves in a career-high 110 minutes played.

The Panthers are back in action Monday evening against non-conference opponent UMass for the first of two-straight at home. Pitt concludes the regular season Friday, Oct. 29 with Virginia Tech on senior day. Both matches begin at 7 PM on the ACCNX.

NEWS & NOTES

  • The tie moves Pitt to 8-4-1 overall and 4-2-1 in ACC play.
  • It is the first draw since September 27, 2019 at Syracuse (1-1).
  • Junior Valentin Noel scored two goals for the fourth multi-score match of his career. Both graduate student Matt Bailey and sophomore Bertin Jacquesson earned the assist on Noel’s first goal.
  • The tie currently puts the Panthers in second-place and one point behind Notre Dame, who drew with Duke this evening, in the ACC Coastal Division.

110′ — final. Pitt 2, UVA 2

90′ — GOAL – UVA – with 2.2 seconds left

Will Citron wins the header off the corner!

90′ — Yellow card on Loeffelsend for delay. UVA with one last ditch corner…

87′ — RED CARD – Mohammad Abualnadi is sent off for accumulation of yellow cards for another late challenge.

77′ — Pitt with back-to-back shots from Noel and Bailey but Holden with another pair of saves!

54′ — GOAL – PITT 2, UVA 1

Afonso Leo slides his PK to the left past the outstretched arms of Pitt GK Nico Campuzano. 54′

54′ — PENALTY

Handball in box on Pitt. UVA shot from top of box — and Pitt’s Mohammad Abualnadi slides in to block shot but ball hits his arm.

52′ — Yellow Card – issued to Pitt’s Mohammad Abualnadi for a late challenge.

45′ — GOAL – PITT 2, UVA 0

Valentin Noel again! Jasper Loeffelsend ball toward the box results in attempted clearance that comes back to Noel on edge of box on bounce. The All-American drives it into back of net.

43′ — UVA goal waved off! Offside is the call.

38′ — Save! Feitosa’s header is headed off line by UVA’s defender Slavov. The officials stopped play to review it, but it was not overturned. No goal.

36′ — GOAL – PITT 1, UVA 0

Valentin Noel
Knocks in his third of the season.
Cross from Bertin Jacquesson intended for Matt Bailey, who slips but manages to keep it alive and pokes it to Noel for finish.

15′ — Pitt with two great, point-blank chances from Feitosa and Noel inside the box, but turned away by UVA keeper Holden Brown.

Preview / Key Storylines

The Pitt Panthers stay on the road as they look to bounce back from a bitter overtime defeat at Notre Dame last Saturday.

The Panthers were without Jasper Loeffelsend (red card suspension) plus Veljko Petkovic and Arturo Ordonez (injuries) in the 1-0 loss. It was a strong defensive effort, and after controlling most of the play in the first half, Pitt coudn’t find solutions in the final third, while Notre Dame gained more confidence as the match progressed, eventually finding the golden goal game winner in the 105th minute.

The loss put Pitt (now 4-2 in ACC) behind the Fighting Irish in the Coastal Division standings with two games remaining conference play. This will be an important match for Pitt to remain in contention for a second consecutive regular season title.

The last time these two teams met, Pitt needed a win on the last game of the unprecedented Spring season in April at Ambrose Urbanic Field and completely dominated the Cavaliers, 5-0, to earn its first Coastal Division title.

Pitt men’s soccer coverage on PSN

FINAL: Notre Dame 1, Pitt 0 (2OT)

Pitt Game Notes

THE SERIES – VIRGINIA

  • The Panthers and Cavaliers meet for the 13th time Friday. Virginia leads the all-time series 7-4-1, with Pitt winners of the last four contests.
  • Pitt’s first win in the series came Oct. 31, 2018 in the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship quarterfinal (2-0). A season later on Oct. 18, 2019, the Panthers upset the Cavaliers 2-0 on the road for the first victory over the No. 1 ranked opponent in program history.
  • Virginia Head Coach George Gelnovatch and Pitt Head Coach Jay Vidovich have combined for a record of 674-316-117. Gelnovatch is currently 11th among active NCAA D1 Head Coaches in wins (350), while Vidovich is 16th with 324.

SCOUTING THE CAVALIERS

  • Virginia enters the match with a 5-7-2 overall record and 2-4 conference mark. The Cavs have won each of their last two ACC matches (Boston College – 2-1, NC State, 2-1).
  • Leo Afonso leads the team with 13 points, having scored six goals and tallying one assist. He also leads the team with 39 shots and 18 shots on goal.
  • Holden Brown enters as the conference’s leader in saves with 57. He is also second in the league in savers per game (4.07) and fourth in save percentage (.750).

WHEN PITT SCORES FIRST

  • Pitt improved to 7-0 on the season when scoring the first goal of the match with its 4-0 shutout of Cleveland State.
  • In the past two seasons, the Panthers are 22-0 when scoring first.
  • Dating back to 2016 in Jay Vidovich‘s first season as Pitt’s head coach, the Panthers are 47-6 in games they score the first goal.

LAW-FULL-ZEND’S IT IN

  • Graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend (yas-pur Law-full-zend) finished the 2020-21 season as one of the best passers in the country and is keeping that status this season.
  • The Cologne, Germany, product is 10thin the nation in assists (7) and fourth in assists per game (.78).
  • The defender recorded his first assist of the year at West Virginia and followed that match up with two at home vs. Lehigh.
  • Löeffelsend registered an assist against both North Carolina and Penn State before tallying two at home vs. Cleveland State.
  • In 27 career games, he is third all-time in career assists with 16.

PITT RANKED NO. 10 IN UPDATED POLL

  • The Panthers were ranked No. 10 in the updated United Soccer Coaches poll Oct. 19.
  • This marks the 28th-straight week the Panthers have been ranked.
  • Of the 28 weeks ranked, 20 have been in the Top-5 and 24 in the Top-10.

PITT STAYS NO. 7 IN UPDATED RPI

  • Pitt received the ranking of No. 7 in the NCAA’s updated RPI poll Oct. 17.
  • The Panthers are one of three ACC teams ranked in the top-10, with Clemson at No. 4 and Notre Dame at No. 10.

UP NEXT

  • Pitt returns home for the final two regular season matches of the season.
  • The Panthers host UMass Monday, Oct. 25 with kick-off slated for 7 PM on ACCNX

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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