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FINAL: NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament: Pitt 5, No. Illinois 2

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics
NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament – Second Round

FINAL: Pitt 5, No. Illinois 2

GAME STATS 

DIGITAL NCAA TOURNAMENT PROGRAM

Match Summary

After giving up an early goal, the Pitt Panthers showed off its attacking firepower en route to a 5-2 win against MAC Champion Northern Illinois in the second round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer tournament at Ambrose Urbanic Field on a cold, wet and rainy Sunday evening.

“We are very excited about the win tonight,” said Head Coach Jay Vidovich. “We had a tremendous opponent who tested us early in both half’s. I was proud of the way we responded after their [NIU] goals and the resiliency and the ability to take the lead and hold out for the rest of the game. I thought it was a great result for us.”

Five different players scored for Pitt and Bertin Jacquesson added three assists to his one tally to lead the Panthers’ attack.

Pitt will now face Hofstra, most likely on Friday, November 27.  Hofstra eliminated Penn State with a second half explosion of goals that led to an 8-2 victory.

How It Happened 

Northern Illinois scored off the first shot of the match in the fifth minute as Anthony Markanich gave the Huskies the early lead. Thirty-one seconds later, freshman Guilherme Feitosa received a cross to the left post from Jacquesson, who after a deflection off a Huskie defender finished and scored to tie the game 1-1.

The Panthers took a 2-1 lead in the 30th minute courtesy of a Jacquesson goal. Junior Raphaël Crivello found sophomore Filip Mirkovic in space who sent a long ball pass toward the right side of the 18. Jacquesson hit a powerful right foot strike and connected with the back of the net for his sixth goal of the season. With less than a minute to play in the half, graduate student Jackson Walti scored his first NCAA postseason goal, putting the Panthers up 3-1 at the break.

The Huskies again scored quickly into the half, converting a shot into a goal in the 47th minute off the foot of Roque Viegas Jr. Pitt answered six minutes later as junior Valentin Noel received a long pass from right to left from Jacquesson, took one touch and scored. The goal was Noel’s fourth career NCAA Tournament score.

Graduate student Alexander Dexter added Pitt’s fifth goal in the 74th minute and Jacquesson earned his third assist of the evening. The goal for Dexter was the third NCAA postseason goal in his career.

The Panthers outshot the Huskies 14-9 for the match and finished a 4-3 corner kick advantage. Graduate student goalkeeper Nico Campuzano recorded three saves and earned his 28th career win in goal as a Panther.

NEWS & NOTES

–        The NCAA postseason victory at home is the second in program history. The Panthers improved their overall record to 12-5-1 and will host Hofstra at a time and date to be determined.

–        Sophomore Bertin Jacquesson tallied a goal and three assists. His single-game assist total tied an NCAA Tournament record and also tied his career mark set last season. The five points in the match were also a career-high for the Frenchman.

–        Five different Panthers scored and the team as a whole recorded six assists. Pitt entered the match as the number one team in the country in assists per game and second in total assists.

Match Day Updates

Look for updates from Pitt’s third home NCAA tournament match in program history here including lineups, game updates and post match reaction.

47′ | Northern Illinois cuts the Panther lead to one with a goal in the 47th minute. Pitt 3, NIU 2

44′ | First Career NCAA Tournament Goal ⚽ for Jackson Walti‼️ The grad student puts Pitt up 3-1 right before half!

30′ — PANTHERS TAKE THE LEAD‼️‼️

Bertin Jacquesson puts Pitt up 2-1 in the 30th minute!

PSN’s Pitt Men’s Soccer / NCAA Tournament Coverage

NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament First Round Scoreboard: Pitt will face Northern Illinois

NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament: Brackets revealed; Pitt earns 5th overall seed and first-round bye

Analysis: Pitt’s attack not dynamic enough to solve stingy Notre Dame

Pitt Game Notes

THE SERIES – NORTHERN ILLINOIS

– The Panthers and Huskies meet for the first time in program history Sunday afternoon.

– Head Coach Jay Vidovich also meets Northern Illinois for the first time in his 27-year career.

SCOUTING THE HUSKIES

– Northern Illinois enters the match with an overall record of 15-2-2. It finished the season 4-0-2 in the MAC while capturing the conference championship with a 2-1 double-overtime victory over Georgia State Nov. 14.

– The Huskies most recently defeated Oakland, 2-1, at home Thursday evening in the NCAA Tournament First Round.

– Northern Illinois enters with the fifth-best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 2.47 goals per contest. Its 47 goals rank fourth nationally, while its 40 assists and 134 points rank 21st and sixth in the country, respectively.

– Leading the Huskies is Nick Markanich, who leads the nation in goals scored (16), total points (37) and game-winning goals (7). His efforts throughout the season earned him MAC Player of the Year for the second-straight year.

– Nick’s brother, Anthony Markanich, is second on the team in points (18) with five goals and eight assists.

– The Huskies own a 2-1 record in games against common Pitt opponents this year, defeating West Virginia (2-0) and Akron (2-1) while falling to Notre Dame (2-0).

– Head Coach Ryan Swan was named the conference’s Gary V. Palmisano Coach of the Year.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

– Pitt is hosting its third ever NCAA Tournament game and second at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

– The Panthers first NCAA game in Pittsburgh was at Pitt Stadium Nov. 22, 1965 against East Stroudsburg (L, 2-0).

– Pitt hosted Lehigh at Ambrose Urbanic Field Nov. 21, 2019 in the First Round. The 2-0 victory that night was the first NCAA Tournament victory in program history.

– The Panthers return to the Ambrose Urbanic Field in the NCAA Tournament exactly two years from the date of its first NCAA Tournament victory.

LOEFFELSEND HEADLINES ALL-ACC AWARDS

– Graduate student Jasper Löeffelsend headlined the All-ACC postseason awards, earning ACC Defensive Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. He was also named to the All-ACC First Team for the second straight season.

– Löeffelsend is the first back-to-back DPOTY since Wake Forest’s Ike Opara in 2008-09. Head Coach Jay Vidovich coached Opara during his 20-year coaching career with the Demon Deacons.

– Vidovich was named ACC Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season and seventh time in his career.

– A program record six players were named to the All-ACC Second Team – Rodrigo Almeida, Bertin Jacquesson, Valentin Noel, Arturo Ordoñez, Veljko Petkovic and Jackson Walti.

– Nico Campuzano received a spot on the Third Team, while Guilherme Feitosa earned All-ACC Freshman Team.

– The Panthers have had a total of 19 players selected to the All-ACC Teams in the past two years.

WHEN PITT SCORES FIRST

– Pitt is 10-0-1 on the season when scoring the first goal of the match.

– In the past two seasons, the Panthers are 25-0-1 when scoring first.

– Dating back to 2016 in Jay Vidovich’s first season as Pitt’s head coach, the Panthers are 50-6-1 in games they score the first goal.

– Under Vidovich, the Panthers played to their first draw when scoring the first goal at Virginia Oct. 22 (2-2).

JACQUESSON EN FUE

– Sophomore Frenchman Bertin Jacquesson has been a major contributor on offense this season, totaling five goals, eight assists and averaging 1.06 points per game.

– The forward converted his lone shot into a goal against Clemson (Sept. 25) and followed that match up with two assists in a home victory vs. Syracuse (10/1).

– He registered four points in Pitt’s shutout victory over Cleveland State (10/5) with a goal and two assists and aided Pitt in its 3-2 victory over No. 3 Duke (10/9) with a goal.

– Jacquesson earned his fifth assist of the season against Virginia on Valentin Noel’s first goal of the match.

– He followed the Virginia match up with his sixth assist of the season vs. UMass.

– Jacquesson scored Pitt’s first goal against No. 21 Virginia Tech, helping Pitt record three goals in less than seven minutes in the first half in a 4-1 victory.

– The Frenchman recorded two assists in Pitt’s 2-1 double-OT ACC Quarterfinal win over Virginia Tech, his fifth multi-assist game of his career.

– Jacquesson is second on the team in points (18), tied for third in goals (5) and is tied for first in assists (8). He is second on the team with a .543 shot on goal percentage (min. 10 shots).

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

– The Panthers have been one of the best teams in the country on their own turf, owning a 20-3-1 in the last three seasons.

– Pitt held a 19-match home winning streak from Oct. 7, 2019 to Nov. 10, 2021, which at the time was the longest streak in the ACC and second longest unbeaten streak in the nation.

– Pitt fell at home, 2-0, in the ACC Semifinal to #20 Notre Dame Nov. 10 for the first time since an Oct. 4, 2019 defeat to #20 North Carolina.

– Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 28-16-3 at home in six plus seasons at Pitt and is 19-3-1 in the past two seasons at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

– Since the start of the 2019 season, Pitt has outscored its opposition 75-26 at home with a 34-10 mark this season.

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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