Virginia storms past No. 11 Pitt, 2-1, to jump into second place in ACC Coastal Division

The Pitt Panthers came up short against Virginia Cavaliers on the road, losing 2-1, in Charlottesville, VA, on Friday night.

It was a costly loss for the Panthers, who drop to 2-2-2 (8 points) in ACC, while the Cavs (3-2-1, 10 points) jump ahead in the Coastal Division standings and into second place.

Albert Thorsen scored for Pitt while goalkeeper Cabrel Cater made one save in a frantic match that included 33 fouls and 12 off side calls.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

Things started off on a very positive note for Pitt, as they mounted a well-executed build-up of possession, into the box in the early going, as Guilherme Feitosa sent a ball to Luis Sahmkow that a Virginia defender deflected.

Albert Thorsen moved in on the far post area to pounce on the loose ball, and put it into goal to give Pitt a 1-0 lead in the 8th minute.

That's how you START‼️‼️

Albert Thorsen finds the loose ball and buries his fourth of the season to give us the early lead just eight minutes in.#H2P pic.twitter.com/xzrboZWEMo

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) October 13, 2023

It was Thorsen’s fourth goal of the season.

Despite the fast start, UVA found plenty of opportunities in the first half to counter against the Panthers.

In the 18th minute, Mouhameth Thiam was on the end of a cross, beating Pitt keeper Carbrel Carter to the ball.

 

In the 23^rd minute, Stephen Annor got in behind the Pitt defense and raced in but Carter came out to challenge and forced the shot to dribble just wide of the left post

Virginia made it 2-1 in the 28^th minute as Stephen Annor collected a cross inside the box and buried the ball into the right corner

Annor flips the game on its head 🔃

He has is eighth of the season and the Hoos lead at Klöckner.

UVA 2, Pitt 1#GoHoos⚔️ pic.twitter.com/tDj14T9U94

— Virginia Men's Soccer (@UVAMenSoccer) October 13, 2023

In the 43^rd minute, Pitt nearly equalized when Massimo Murania got free at the top of the box and ripped a shot that just missed the right corner of the Virginia goal.

Pitt had a great chance in the 60^th minute as Feitosa ripped a hard shot on the free kick from the top of the box but the UVA keeper poked the ball over top the cage and out of play

In the 63^rd minute, Joao Souza sent a great cross to the left side of the box where Abdoulaye Toure volleyed a shot towards the right corner that was stopped but the Cavaliers’ keeper

Pitt had a pair of free kicks from just outside the box in the final 15 minutes but both attempts, one by Jackson Gilman and the other by Thorsen, were blocked by the UVA wall and cleared out as the Cavaliers hung on to the 2-1 home win

MATCH STATS

• For the match, Pitt held the 13-10 lead in shots while the corner kicks were tied, 5-5
• Souza led all players with three shots while off the bench Toure and Murania each had two shots in the loss
• In goal, Carter made one save in the loss for Pitt

MATCH NOTES

• With the loss, Pitt is now 4-10-2 all-time against the Cavaliers. Virginia has won three straight in the series and owns a 6-3-1 record against Pitt in Charlottesville
• It was just the third time since 2019, Pitt scored first in the match and lost

UP NEXT

• The Panthers return home Tuesday, Oct. 17 as they welcome cross-town rival Duquesne to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a non-conference battle. Tuesday’s City Game between the two squads will kick at 7:00 pm and air live on ACC Network Extra.