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Panthers looking for more efficiency in final third after draw with Georgia

On Thursday, the University of Pittsburgh women’s soccer team kicked off its 2024 season with a big-time opening matchup: Georgia. The Panthers, ranked at No. 7 coming into the season, took on the Bulldogs, ranked No. 14, and played to a scoreless draw.

The Panthers finished the match with 18 shots, registering five on target from Sarah Schupanky, Samiah Phiri, Lucia Wells and Deborah Abiodun. On the opposite end, Georgia took 10 shots, with four on target against Panthers goalkeeper Ellie Breech, courtesy of Margie Detrizio, Summer Denigan and Nicole Vernis.

The morning after, associate head coach Ben Waldrum — who filled in for his father, head coach Randy Waldrum, as acting coach for the match, while the senior Waldrum was home with his wife, who is recovering from open-heart surgery — spoke with Pittsburgh Soccer Now about the first match, new faces who made their Panthers debut and previewed Sunday’s ‘City Game’ against Duquesne.

Dangerous, efficiency, needed in final third

Despite the five shots on goal, the Panthers struggled to find dangerous shots on target.

Waldrum stated that he was hoping for a quicker start.

“I thought overall we were pretty good. I would’ve liked to be more efficient in the final third,” he said. “We kind of got in and around the box and we still wanted to create some better opportunities and better looks. We wanted to be quicker to pull the trigger.”

Early on, the Panthers were more defensive, as goalkeeper Breech made two shot-stopping saves to preserve the scoreline. Waldrum said that Breech has essentially picked back up from where she left off last season, showing off her consistency and strength.

“Breech came up big on the reaction save that she pushed onto the crossbar. She was confident, had a good presence and was able to pick off some crosses,” Waldrum said. “She made a nice save, in the sun, on a free kick that was hit. I think that was hit a little harder than what people saw. Being able to hold onto the ball there was tough. She started where she finished the season last year, so that’s good to see. When you’ve got someone sturdy back there, it breeds confidence with your backline and midfield.”

The Panthers began to rip shots off after Breech’s display of goalkeeping, with the best chance of half coming from Canadian senior Keera Melenhorst.

“If you look back at the first half, we were in and around the box, but I’m not sure — aside from Keera’s chance — how great the looks and the opportunities actually were,” Waldrum stated. “Georgia’s one chance of the half, they hit the crossbar. When you look at how many opportunities on goal we had — we had 18 shots — but how many of those were actually dangerous? When I’m talking final third and being more efficient, maybe that gives clarity on what we’re looking for.”

In the second half, the Panthers came out quickly, taking shots at goalkeeper Jordan Brown. Sage Stezler, sophomore defender, forced a save from the top of the box, while Phiri, Wells and Abiodun tried to shoot at goal. The Panthers were unsure whether Abiodun was going to start, due to a congested Olympic schedule. But once she got her rest and told the staff she was ready to go, Waldrum knew he had to put her in the match.

“I think she was very good last night. I still think there’s probably more than anything else a little mental fatigue,” Waldrum shared. “We tried to spell her in some minutes within the game itself. But, listen, she’s different. She changes you. So, in a game like that, you had to have her. I thought she played well, considering coming off of what she’s come of with a busy Olympic schedule. I said before, if you play in a World Cup or an Olympics, and you’re healthy, you’re going to play.”

Schupansky, who led the Panthers last year with 11 goals and 14 assists, took a final shot at goal with just seconds left in the match, but Brown made a last-ditch save to preserve the tie.

Despite not getting on the scoresheet, Waldrum is encouraged by the number of participants who took shots.

“We have the players and the talent to be much more efficient,” he explained. “Sarah had a couple nice looks, and toward the end she had a good chance but she hit it right at the goalkeeper. It’s a little more being efficient and a little more dangerous. For us, even against a top opponent, we had the ball the majority of the time. You have to convert your possession into something that’s going to be dangerous and create goals.

“I’d like us to be more efficient,” he continued. “Whether that’s getting down to the end line and getting more service, or getting more numbers in the box, or a combination play at the top of the box, we need to figure out where our goals are going to come from. The nice thing is that we have the players who can get us those points. We return a very veteran group from that standpoint, but I’d like to be more efficient.”

Debuts for Abraham, Pettet and others

The big question going into the first game of the season was, simply, who is going to replace Amanda West on the XI sheet?

Of course, West wasn’t the only player who graduated last year. Stelzer filled in the hole left by Ashton Gordon — now an assistant coach for the Panthers women’s soccer program — and Keera Melenhorst took over Landy Mertz’ slot. But with West, the competition was completely left open.

The nod went to freshman, WPIAL standout Lola Abraham from Riverview.

Abraham recorded two shots, but neither were on-goal, in 62 minutes of action. Waldrum said he was proud of how Abraham made the jump from high school to playing in an SEC venue with over 1,700 people looking on.

“Technically, and her ability in tight spaces, and taking people on, she’s exceptional at those things,” Waldrum shared. “I think she probably would’ve wanted a couple of those chances back. She broke in a few times in the box and had some shots blocked there. She’s got to learn how to pull the trigger a little faster in those situations. Overall, she played very well and handled herself very well. You don’t know sometimes how young ones are going to react in those environments and situations. She exceeded expectations from that standpoint.”

Also making her Panthers debut was Missouri transfer, and fifth-year player, Grace Pettet. She garnered 30 minutes of time and began working on the relationship between her and junior defender Katie Zailski.

“The plan was always to start phasing Grace in more and more. She’s coming off some hamstring issues. When it’s something muscular, you try to monitor and manage minutes and training loads,” Waldrum explained. “We’ve taken a pretty conservative approach so we make sure we have her for the whole season. She did a nice job, as well. We got her because she has college experience; she was her team’s captain in the back, she’s vocal and she played a little bit of center back and outside back, and did that last night. It felt like you had a veteran back there.”

Also making her Panthers debut was Magali Gagne, who featured for 19 minutes and is a transfer from Kansas.

The City Game on Sunday

The Panthers have a total of nine players on their roster who featured in the WPIAL for their high schools. Meanwhile, the Duquesne women’s soccer team has 13 players from the WPIAL. Realistically, for the ‘City Game,’ the Dukes could roll out an all-WPIAL lineup. The Panthers would be just two players short.

Needless to say, the City Game is going to be important for those 21 players, respectively.

“When you have these local rivalries, the WPIAL kids, it means more to them than it does for, say, Keera from Ottawa,” Waldrum said with a laugh. “It’ll be a big game for them. We’re going to get Duquesne’s best shot. Al [Alvine]will have his players motivated and ready. They’re not going to just give us the game. If we play and perform to our standard, hopefully we can put some balls in the back of the net.”

Waldrum said that the Panthers have goals in mind — no pun intended — for what they want to accomplish in the match at Highmark Stadium, which is free and open to the public on Sunday, Aug. 18, with a 3 p.m. kickoff time.

“I think for us, I look at it this way: if we can play at that pace and intensity, I think the game will be very uncomfortable for Duquesne,” Waldrum said. “I think that’s probably the challenge. We have little areas and things we try to do in possession and efficiency in the final third. We have a few targets and goals we have in mind for that game. Right now, when navigating these non-conference games, is to continue to improve and get better. We’ll probably need to play more players in that one. There’s a big difference in playing Georgia than Duquesne. We may have some tired legs and overcome the travel, and that sort of thing.

“I think you’ll see more players get into that game.”

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The sport of soccer is Rachael Kriger's area of expertise. Kriger covers high school and women's soccer, with occasional work with Pitt Women's Soccer. For the last five years, she has been the Color Commentator for the Pitt Women's Soccer program. Elsewhere, Kriger contributes for MLS Multiplex, part of the FanSided network. She formerly wrote for Equalizer Soccer and Last Word on Soccer. Kriger is a member of the official NWSL Media Association and the North American Soccer Reporters, serving as the NASR's President after two years in the role of Communications Director and Vice President.

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