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FINAL: Pitt 2, Cleveland State 1 (NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament – First Round)

NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament (First Round) 

FINAL:  Pitt 2, Cleveland State 1

Match Stats

PSN Coverage:  Dominic Campbell (Reporting)

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Preview / PSN Recent Coverage of Pitt Men’s Soccer 

For the fourth straight year, the Pitt will host a home NCAA Tournament match as they welcome the Cleveland State Vikings Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship. Thursday’s match will start at 7:00 pm and air live on ESPN+.

It is a fairly familar opponent, as Cleveland St has played Pitt in men’s soccer 20 times overall, and the teams last met in 2021, with Pitt winning, 2-0.

The winner of Thursday’s game will head to No. 16 Akron Sunday afternoon at 1:00 pm for a second round matchup with the Zips.

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Pitt Game Notes 

THE SERIES – CLEVELAND STATE

  • This meeting marks the 20th all-time between the two teams with Cleveland State holding a slim 8-7-4 advantage in the all-time series.
  • The Panthers won the last meeting between the two sides last season by the score of 4-0 at Ambrose Urbanic Field as Guilherme Feitosa, Bertin Jacquesson and Michael Sullivan each netted goals for Pitt in the win.
  • The Vikings have won five of the last six overall in the series.
  • At home, Pitt is 5-5-2 against Cleveland State in the series.

SCOUTING THE VIKINGS

  • Cleveland State enters Thursday’s match with a 11-3-5 overall record and a 5-1-3 conference mark. They secured their second Horizon League title on Saturday afternoon to earn an automatic qualifying bid to the NCAA Tournament.
  • The Vikings are led offensively by Bojan Kolevski who has netted a team-high 10 goals and five assists while Pablo Kawecki has netted nine goals and four assists on the year. Kolevski was named Horizon League Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year.
  • Overall, Cleveland State had five players earn All-Conference honors including three First Team members and two Second Team members.
  • In goal, the Vikings are led by Omeed Naeemy who owns a 8-2-4 overall record to go along with a .685 save percentage and 1.21 goals against average on the year. He has also secured six clean sheets.

PANTHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

  • This marks the fourth straight season and fourth time overall the Panthers have earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
  • Pitt currently owns a 6-2-1 record in NCAA Tournament games.
  • The Panthers have secured at least one win in each of their previous three trips to the tournament.

Date                 Opponent         Result
11/21/20          Lehigh              W, 2-0
11/24/20          at Georgetown  L, 5-0
5/2/21              Monmouth       W, 6-1
5/6/21              UCF                  W, 4-0
5/10/21            Washington      W, 3-0
5/14/21            Indiana             L, 1-0
11/21/21          No. Illinois        W, 5-2
11/27/21          Hofstra             W, 4-0
12/4/21            at Notre Dame  T, 1-1

FIVE PANTHERS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS

  • Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Panthers saw five players earn All-ACC recognition.
  • Pitt has placed a total of 37 players on All-ACC squads since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program seven years ago.
  • Senior Valentin Noel earned his spot on the First Team for the third straight season as he leads Pitt with seven goals on the year.
  • Junior Filip Mirkovic earned First Team All-ACC honors as he leads the team in scoring (18 points) and the ACC in assists (12).
  • For the third straight season, midfielder Jackson Walti earned Second Team All-ACC honors. He has started every match for Pitt and leads the team with 1,536 minutes played.
  • Bertin Jacquesson earned Second Team All-ACC honors for the third straight season as he has recorded five goals and three assists on a team-high 45 shots this season.
  • Freshman defender Jackson Gilman earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad as he has helped Pitt secure six clean sheets on the year while starting all 17 matches on the Pitt backline.

UP NEXT

  • With a win, the Panthers would advance to the second round of the NCAA Tournament and play No. 16 Akron on the road Sunday at 1:00 pm.
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