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FINAL: Louisville 2, Pitt 1

Photo courtesy Louisville University Men's Soccer Twitter
ACC Men’s Soccer

FINAL: Louisville 2, Pitt 1

MATCH STATS.

Match Summary

Pitt men’s soccer team (5-2-1, 2-1-0 ACC) fell on the road Friday night to No. 25 Louisville, 2-1. The loss snapped Pitt’s four-game unbeaten streak.

The Cardinals got on the board first in the fourth minute as Aboubacar Camara netted his third goal of the season on a rebound. Joe van der Sar made a huge stop right in front but Camara was able to control the rebound from the ground and buried the first goal of the match.

The Panthers controlled possession over the final 10 minutes but they weren’t able to break through with the game-tying goal. Both teams had seven shots at half but the Panthers weren’t able to place one on frame in the first 45 minutes.

Pitt finally broke through with the game-tying goal in the 50th minute as Jackson Gilman found Bertin Jacquesson on the left flank. Jacquesson made a quick move on the defender and ripped a left-footed shot into the upper left corner for his fourth goal of the season.

The Cardinals regained the lead in the 60th minute as a cross was deflected by a Pitt defender and went right to the foot of Konstantinos Georgallides who buried the shot into the lower left corner.

In the 80th minute, Jackson Walti had a shot just miss the right corner as he ripped a right-footed shot from the top of the box after a feed by Rodrigo Almeida.

Louisville finished off their first ACC win of the season with a 16-9 edge in shots and a 5-3 lead in corner kicks. The Cardinals also held the 9-1 lead in shots on goal in the home victory.

Pitt returns home Friday, Sept. 30 as they host Virginia for a 7:00 pm ACC contest at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Friday night’s match will air live on ACC Network Extra.

NOTES

*** Pitt is now 6-1-2 over the past two seasons against ranked opponents

*** Jacquesson’s goal marked his team-leading fourth of the season. He now has 15 career goals and 51 career points.

*** Gilman collected his second assist of the season on Jacquesson’s goal. He has now recorded an assist in two straight matches.

*** van der Sar made a career-high seven saves in the loss.

Match Updates

Look for starting lineups and key moments of the match to be posted here.

FINAL:  LOUISVILLE 2, PITT 1

Half: Louisville 1, Pitt 0

Louisville takes the early lead.

Preview / PSN Coverage

Coming off a wild 3-3 draw against No. 15 Akron, and after moving up a few spots in the United Soccer Coaches poll, to number eight, Pitt men’s soccer team will travel to Louisville to take on yet another Top 25 foe, ACC Coastal Division rival Louisville Cardinals.

Most importantly, the Panthers will be looking to keep a firm grip on first place in the ACC Coastal Division, as they’re currently 2-0-0 in conference play. There’s little room for error in the gauntlet of ACC play. Louisville will be a desperate team as they’ve yet to pick up an ACC win in two tries (loss to Duke and draw vs Boston College).

In the meantime, Pitt has built a strong resume this season on the strength of schedule, as this will be the fifth Top 25 side they’ll face. The Panthers are 2-1-1 in the four meetings with Georgetown, West Virginia, Marshall and Akron.

Duel to the Draw: Pitt, Akron back-and-forth affair ends 3-3

Game Notes

THE SERIES – LOUISVILLE

  • This meeting marks the seventh all-time between the two programs with the Cardinals owning the 5-1-0 advantage in the series.
  • The Panthers won the last meeting against the Cardinals, 4-1, on the road in 2020. Filip Mirkovic and Valentin Noel each netted goals in the win.
  • Pitt is 1-2 all-time in games played in Louisville in the series.
  • The first meeting between the two teams came in 2006 as Louisville earned the 2-1 win in Pittsburgh.

SCOUTING THE CARDINALS

  • Louisville is 4-2-1 overall and 0-1-1 in ACC play so far this season after defeating Florida Gulf Coast Monday night, 1-0, on the road. The Cardinals are ranked No. 25 in the latest United Soccer Coaches National Top-25 Poll.
  • The Cardinals have scored 13 goals in seven matches as they have four players with two goals each. Freshman Konstantinos Georgallides is leading the way with six points on two goals and two assists.
  • Sander Roed leads the team with four assists to go along with 10 shots while Aboubacar Camara has two goals, both game-winners, so far this season.
  • In goal, Gavin Krenecki has earned six starts and owns a 3-2-1 record with a 1.33 goals-against averahe and a .636 save percentage with one shutout. Last time out, Ryan Troutman made his first start and earned a cleansheet in the win over Florida Gulf Coast, making two saves.

PITT LOOKING FOR 3-0 ACC START FOR SECOND TIME

  • The Panthers opened ACC play with back-to-back shutout victories for the first time in program history as they downed North Carolina on the road 1-0 and NC State at home, 3-0.
  • Pitt will be looking to improve to 3-0 in ACC play for just the second time on Friday night as they head to Louisville. Pitt opened the 2020-21 season with four straight wins.
  • Pitt will be looking for their third straight shutout to open ACC play. It would make the first time in program history the Panthers started conference play with three straight cleansheets.

PANTHERS RANKED ONCE AGAIN

  • The Pitt program has turned into a fixture in the national polls since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program.
  • Pitt is ranked No. 8 in the latest United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll, No. 3 in the TopDrawerSoccer Top-25 Poll and No. 6 in the College Soccer News Top-30 Poll.
  • Pitt has been ranked in all five United Soccer Coaches Polls this season.
  • Overall, Pitt has been ranked for 36 consecutive weeks in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Pitt has earned a top-10 ranking in 31 of those 36 straight weeks.
  • Pitt has been ranked No. 1 in the poll for eight weeks since the poll started in 1996.

LET ME ASSIST YOU

  • A major strength of the Panthers over the past couple seasons has been the way they distribute the ball.
  • So far this season, Pitt has 15 assists on 15 goals. The 15 total assists is currently tied for 29th in the NCAA while their 2.50 assists per game is tied for 27th in the NCAA.
  • Last season, Pitt led the NCAA in assists (63) and assists per game (3.15), both of which marked program records.
  • Over the last three seasons, Pitt leads the NCAA in total assists with 122 helpers.

NCAA Total Assist Leaders (Last 3 Seasons)
1. Pitt 126
2. Wake Forest 117
3. Campbell 105
Clemson 105
5. Washington 104

UP NEXT

  • No. 8 Pitt returns home Friday, Sept. 30 as they welcome the Virginia Cavaliers to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a 7:00 pm first kick. Next Friday’s match will air live on ACC Network Extra.
  • Pitt is 4-0-1 in the last five matches against Virginia as they two sides tied 2-2 last season in Charlottesville. Valentin Noel netted both goals for Pitt in the road draw last year.
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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