‘Big Time’ Arnau Vilamitjana helps resurgent Panthers stay alive

Photo courtesy Pitt Athletics

“Big time players make big time plays in big time games.” Santana Moss coined the adage in 2000 while a wide receiver at the University of Miami before moving on to greater fame in the NFL. 

Pitt Men’s Soccer head coach Jay Vidovich applied that adage to graduate midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana following the Panthers’ 3-2 extra time win over Kansas City — a game that punched their ticket to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in five seasons. 

Vilamitjana quietly ranks fourth on the Panthers in goals and fifth in total points, although he probably isn’t who you think of first when it comes to Pitt’s scoring offense, especially behind scoring leaders like Luis Sahmkow, Guilherme Feitosa and Albert Thorsen. 

He’s rocketed up the leaderboard in the past two weeks, scoring the lone goal in Pitt’s shutout win over Cornell on Nov. 24 off a penalty kick. Vilamitjana then added a go-ahead goal and the game-winning assist in the Kansas City game: he collected a rebound and slotted it home on the former, then lofted a pass from near midfield on the latter, right into Thorsen’s lap. 

He netted two more goals in the Panthers’ 2-1 road win over North Carolina, then ranked No. 5 in the country. 

As Vidovich said, Vilamitjana knows how to get it done under the bright lights.

Vilamitjana, however, didn’t go so far as to call himself a big time player, emphasizing his approach and mentality rather than overall ability.

“The goals just come when you don’t think about it. You don’t focus on it. Just try to play, try to do your best for the team, and then they come,” Vilamitjana said.

“Obviously have been [in] very good moments, very important times during the game, but I don’t think about it. You have to stay calm, play for the team, and everything will come.”

Finding his footing

This is Vilamitjana’s first season of collegiate soccer in the United States.

Originally from Girona, Spain, the one-time FC Barcelona Academy product who also played with CE Europa in Spain’s fourth division, earned his bachelor’s degree on the other side of the pond and came to the Panthers this offseason with two years of eligibility remaining.

In many ways, then, his recent scoring streak makes a good deal of sense: he’s acclimating to the rigors of Division 1 soccer… although both he and Vidovich made sure to illustrate his impact beyond the scoresheet this year.

“Just because he’s not scoring a goal doesn’t mean he’s not doing great stuff for us, as he’s been throughout the season. He’s had other big goals for us, but at the same time his performance throughout the season, he’s been pretty sharp,” Vidovich said.

“I’m very proud of him. Like I said, we’re very fortunate to find a student athlete like him who wanted to come join us. It’s why we brought him here. I think he’s adapting to college, the US, and college soccer.”

If Vilamitjana’s quotes don’t make it clear that he’s a team-first player, take it from teammates like Thorsen, who was on the receiving end of his game-winning dish.

“He helps out me and the team both offensively and defensively. I know every time Arnau gets the ball I’m confident that he’s going to keep it, and he’ll find the best option, find the best spots to get the ball in as well,” Thorsen said. “As an attacker, every time he gets the ball I know I can run in behind, I can find spots and he’ll find me. Of course, that’s a really good feeling for an attacker.”

Weathering the storm

Vidovich and his players freely admit that they’ve struggled in recent weeks. Vilamitjana’s penchant for big performances have helped the Panthers stay alive this season, whether it was his last minute goal against North Carolina to snap a two game losing skid or his postseason hot streak.

After clinching home field advantage throughout the conference tournament with their first-ever regular season ACC title in program history, the Panthers blew their first match at home, losing 2-0 to a Virginia team they’d annihilated 4-1 just two weeks previously.

While they bounced back to win their first two NCAA Tournament games, the Panthers still don’t look consistent. From Vidovich’s perspective, their ability to keep their season going despite not playing their best soccer provides a poignant learning opportunity, one that will help them move forward. 

“There’s been these struggles for the team, but if you can react positively and learn from them it’s always a great situation. We continue to grow. I think the Cornell game was a big one, was a lot of struggles in that one,” Vidovich said. “[It was the] first game in two weeks, really big growth process and this opportunity to play another quality team and get tested. I think we just have to believe that we can continue to grow, to see some good action.” 

Vidovich continued.

“But now there’s a bigger belief and understanding that we can keep doing this. It doesn’t have to fall right for us, some things can go hard for us, and we’ll be able to bounce back. Really exciting to see your group do that, to grow in that way.”