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Pitt shut out by Virginia, 1-0, in the ACC Quarterfinal Round

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics

No. 6 Pitt traveled to take on No. 3 Virginia on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.

They struggled to create enough chances and fell 1-0, ending their ACC Championship hopes.

The Panthers’ (8-4-5) loss is their first since the end of September, when they lost to the Cavaliers (10-4-3) at home, 3-1. Including the past two tournament matches, the Panthers have lost three, drawn five and won just three of their past 11 matches.

The weather impacted the play in the first half as pouring rain soaked the field and didn’t allow for great chances for either side to start out.

The first real chance for Pitt came in the 13th minute. Graduate midfielder Lucas Rosa put a great cross into the box. Senior midfielder Valentin Noel didn’t make a good shot on the pass and Virginia dealt with it easily.

The Cavaliers scored the lone goal in the 21st minute. Junior midfielder Daniel Mangarov put a pass to junior forward Leo Afonso, who put a brilliant flick on to it. First-year defender Reese Miller ran on to the pass and shot it into the right corner to give the Cavaliers the lead.

Pitt made the most of the chances the rest of the first half. First-year defender Jackson Gillman ran right through the Virginia defense in the 26th minute. He laid a pass off to sophomore midfielder Michael Sullivan, but his first touch was too heavy and the shot was weak as well, as Virginia junior goalkeeper Holden Brown saved it easily.

Junior forward Bertin Jacquesson ripped a powerful shot that hit under the crossbar and out in the 30th minute. Jacquesson created another opportunity in the 36th minute. He made a quick pass to graduate midfielder Rodrigo Almeida, whose shot flew over the goal.

Neither team created much in the second half at all. Virginia chose to sit back and defend their lead, while Pitt struggled to break down their defense and hardly made any good shots on goal.

Almeida had the best shot in that latter half, with a left-footed strike that Brown punched away. Rosa got the rebound, dribbled and fired another shot on goal that Brown saved again for a corner.

The loss for Pitt doesn’t mean that their season is over. They await to find out their next opponent next week, when the announcement for the NCAA Tournament Field occurs.

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