Pitt women’s soccer places program record five players on All-ACC Teams

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics

Pitt women’s soccer placed a program record five players on All-ACC teams on Wednesday, marking the vast improvement seen under head coach Randy Waldrum.

Junior forward Sarah Schupansky placed on the All-ACC First Team, the first Panther to ever do so, fifth year forward Amanda West made the Second Team, while fifth year midfielder Landy Mertz and junior forward Samiah Phiri made the Third Team. First-year midfielder Deborah Abiodun made both the All-ACC Third Team and Freshman Team.

Schupansky leads Pitt women’s soccer with 10 goals, 10 assists and 30 points, all career highs for her. Her best games this season, statistically, saw her score a goal and contribute three assists, a season-high, in a 6-0 victory over Syracuse on the road Oct. 14, as well as her two goals and an assist in the 5-1 win over Bowling Green at home on Sept. 4.

She ranks in top-10 in the ACC for her 0.53 assists and per game, game-winning goals with three, .500 shot accuracy, 1.58 points per game, 2.95 shots per game and 1.47 shots on goal per game. She leads the ACC in assists and total points, while ranking second with 10 goals

West returned for her fifth season with the team in 2023, after suffering a season-ending injury after playing just six games in 2022.

She still is proving that she is not only the greatest player in Pitt women’s soccer history, as she has both the most goals and assists, but that she is one of the best players in the country. Her nine goals is third most on the team and her eight assists and 26 points are second most.

This is the fourth time that West has received All-ACC honors, making the Second Team back in 2020, while making the Third Team in 2021 and 2019.

She also scored her ninth goal of the season against North Carolina on Sunday, which served as the go-ahead goal in overtime, to put Pitt into the Semifinals of the ACC Tournament for the first time ever.

Mertz provided two assists on both goals in the 2-1 win over the Tar Heels on Sunday, arguably her best performance of the season.

Her distribution has proved most important for the Panthers this season, as her nine assists are second behind Schupansky and fourth best in the ACC. This is also the second consecutive year for her making the All-ACC Third Team.

Phiri is one of the more consistent players for Pitt these past few games, scoring five goals in her past seven matches, helping her to earn her first All-ACC honor. Her 10 goals are the most for Pitt along with Schupansky and they both rank second best in the ACC as well.

She is third in the ACC with 61 shots and 0.53 goals per game, fourth with 3.21 shots per game, fifth with 23 total points and seventh with 1.21 points per game.

Abiodun played for Waldrum in the 2023 World Cup in Australia & New Zealand and has served as one of the best players in the country. She has played in 17 games and started 14 for 1,004 minutes, while scoring four goals and providing three assists.

Pitt women’s soccer faces No. 1 Florida State in the Semifinals of the ACC Tournament Thursday, at 8 p.m. at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, N.C. The ACC Network will broadcast the match.