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Pitt Women’s Soccer Receives Ranking, Opponent in NCAA Tournament

Pitt women's soccer

Pitt women’s soccer received their ranking and their opponent in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, during the NCAA Tournament Selection show Monday afternoon.

Pitt earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament, in just their second ever appearance, as they also made it last season, where they went to the Sweet 16. Their opponent is Ohio State, who Pitt will play at home in the First Round, this weekend. The dates for the First Round matches are this Friday, Nov. 10, Saturday, Nov. 11 and Sunday, Nov. 12, so Pitt will face Ohio State on one of those days.

The Panthers are coming off of their first ever ACC Semifinals appearance, as they defeated the No. 4 North Carolina Tar Heels 2-1 on the road in overtime in the First Round last Sunday. They lost to the No. 1 Florida State Seminoles 2-0 in the conference semifinals last Thursday.

Pitt currently has a 14-5-1 (W-L-D) overall record and finished with a 6-2-1 ACC record in the regular season, their best conference record in program history.

Ohio State is 9-7-2 and finished with a 5-4-1 record in the Big Ten. They earned the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten Tournament and lost to No. 2 Nebraska in the Quarterfinals on the road last Sunday.

The Buckeyes are 2-2 against ranked teams this season. They hold wins over the No. 16 Indiana Hoosiers at home on Sept. 28 and the No. 12 Wisconsin Badgers on the road on Oct. 15 and losses to the No. 17 Memphis Tigers on the road on Aug. 24 and that loss to the Cornhuskers, who held a No. 19 ranking at the time.

The two teams have a shared opponent this season in Buffalo. Pitt defeated them in their season opener on the road, 2-1 on Aug. 17 and Ohio State lost to them at home on Aug. 20.

Ohio State holds the all-time series with a 3-1 record over Pitt. They have wins in their most recent meeting in 2013 and also in 2010 and 2002, while Pitt won their only match in 2009, a 2-1 win in Columbus.

The rest of the bracket that Pitt women’s soccer is in for the upcoming NCAA Tournament possesses many great teams that they have seen already in 2023.

Florida State won the ACC Tournament for the fourth straight season, is a No. 1 seed and is in the same bracket as Pitt once again. Florida State has beaten Pitt twice this season, with their first victory a comeback 3-2 win in Tallahassee, and then again in the ACC Semifinals. Florida State is 4-0 against Pitt in the past two seasons, including a 3-0 win at home in the Sweet 16 in 2022.

Notre Dame received a No. 3 seed and has the chance to face off against Pitt in the Sweet 16 if both teams make it that far. The two squads drew, 1-1, at Ambrose Urbanic Field on Sept. 24. Notre Dame also made the ACC Semifinals, losing to Clemson 3-2.

The other ranked teams in Pitt’s bracket are, No. 2 Arkansas, No. 4 Wisconsin, No. 5 Texas, No. 6 Memphis and No. 8 Texas A&M. Pitt would face No. 2 Arkansas if they both win their matches and Fayetteville, Ark. would feature as the hosting site for the Second Round and Sweet 16. The highest team in each half of a bracket hosts both the Second Round and Sweet 16 matches, since they happen on the same weekend.

Other teams Pitt women’s soccer faced this season that are in the NCAA Tournament include No. 1 Clemson, No. 3 North Carolina, No. 4 Xavier and Bucknell. Pitt lost to Clemson 1-0 on Oct. 22 and 2-1 to Xavier on Sept. 7, both on the road, while beating Bucknell 5-0 at home on Aug. 27.

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