Pitt Men’s Soccer sees their season end on brutal miscue vs Vermont

NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Tournament Elite Eight 

FINAL: Vermont 2, Pitt 0

Match Summary

Follow along here for updates from the match, including starting lineups, in-game updates, highlights of goal(s), stats and more.

Pitt Men’s Soccer saw their season come to an end on Saturday, Dec. 7 as they fell 2-1 to the Vermont Catamounts in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.

Defensive miscues and unlucky bounces helped seal the Panthers’ fate, as had been the case for most of the season. Vermont took a 1-0 lead early in the second half thanks to junior forward Maximilian Kissel, who gobbled up a misplay from Jackson Gilman, then beat Cabral Carter on the far side.

From there, the Catamounts relied on their defense, clogging the final 20 yards of the field. The Panthers still managed to put seven shots on goal, but they couldn’t solve 6-foot-6 Catamounts’ keeper Niklas Herceg.

“When you put 11 players inside the 18, it’s very difficult to break down,” Vidovich said. “We didn’t execute on it as well as we would like, but their keeper came up big several times, they had some great blocks. It’s the nature of our game. It will punish you very severely.”

Pitt defender and ACC Defensive Player of the Year Casper Svendby was a notable absence in the Panthers’ starting lineup, although he checked in during the 32nd minute and finished the game from there.

While neither team managed to find the back of the net in the early 45 minutes, they weren’t without chances… often stemming from misplays or defensive breakdowns rather than sound offensive tactics. Matteo Maillefaud put up the first shot for the Panthers, a rocket from the outskirts of the penalty box that caromed harmlessly off the scoreboard.

Pitt thwarted an early Catamounts corner kick, clearing with a timely header, then Mikey Sullivan nearly gave Pitt the lead as the Panthers went on the attack, but his shot skipped just wide of the net after a deflection from Herceg. Nothing came of the corner kick to follow.

In the end, the Catamounts broke through. Niklas Soerensen took a throw-in that skipped awkwardly past Gilman, and Kissel was there to collect it and beat Carter.

“It was a key moment in the game. I think it couldn’t have worked better for Vermont,” Vidovich said. “It was a bad mistake, we kinda beat ourselves.”

The Panthers began to press hard with 20 minutes to play. Lurking in front of the goal, Guilherme Feitosa just missed a crossfield pass he could’ve easily slotted home, then a volley after a corner kick turned into point blank shots from Arnau Vilamitjana and Sullivan, the latter getting blocked over the net and out of bounds.

Luis Sahmkow took the Panthers best chance, dropping into a slide in front of the net after some nifty passing, but Herceg was there to stop him. Vermont put Pitt to bed with ten seconds remaining. With the ball rolling into the Panthers’ end, Carter had to charge forward and spark a last gasp push, but Catamounts’ scoring leader Yaniv Bazini slid to break up Carter’s kick. The redirect skipped into the vacant net, and the Panthers fell just short of their third College Cup in five years.

The bottom line for Vidovich? He feels for his senior class.

“This senior group just did an unbelievable job of raising the level here, the standard once again with Pitt Soccer… good luck to my seniors who are graduating this week. All respect there,” Vidovich said. “What they’ve done, they’ve exceeded in the classroom, some of them in their second language. I miss them already. I’m not over the loss, I’m in a funeral state right now.”

It’s simple. Winner goes to Cary. 🏆

🎟️ https://t.co/QaFIlgzIjf pic.twitter.com/k1UrJCEgOP

— Pitt Men's Soccer (@Pitt_MSOC) December 6, 2024

Click here for PSN’s Photo Gallery of Pitt-Vermont

 

Match Preview

Following consecutive wins to open the national tournament, the No. 2-seeded Pitt men’s soccer team will host Vermont Saturday at Ambrose Urbanic Field, with the winner advancing to the 2024 NCAA Men’s College Cup.

Pitt is one of only four programs nationally with two College Cup appearances since 2020. With a win on Saturday, the Panthers will become the lone team nationally with three during that span.

This will be the first-ever match between Pitt and Vermont.

This week, Pittsburgh Soccer Now broke down Pitt’s 3-2 win against Kansas City, as the attack finally started clicking for the first time in the run of play in the postseason.

Head Coach Jay Vidovich, who has led the Panthers now to four Elite Eight appearances in the the past five seasons, believes that his team is reaping the rewards for putting in the work and getting a little better each day.

“If you stay with the process.  You keep doing things right, the goals will come,” Jay Vidovich, Pitt’s veteran Head Coach said after the win on Sunday.

The Panthers will also get its leader on the back line, junior defender Jackson Gilman, back in the lineup after having to sit out the previous match due to a red card suspension resulting from a foul that came in the Panthers’ Second Round win vs Cornell.

Vermont: A Closer Look at the Catamounts

Standing in Pitt’s way are the Catamounts ( 14-2-5 ), who led by Head Coach Rob Dow.  Vermont earned the American East Conference title and are no strangers to the NCAA men’s soccer tournament, making their 14th appearance.

This is their second appearance in the National Quarterfinal Round in the past three seasons.

Add in the factor that playing cold weather soccer as part of the culture of playing in upper New England in the late Fall, the NCAA-battle tested Catamounts should feel right at home playing in Pittsburgh on Saturday when the weather conditions will be cold, with the temperatures barely reaching into the mid-30s.

In fact, playing in the cold is in their blood — if you consider much of the roster consist of talented players from New England and their recruiting pipeline from Canada.

How battle tested are the Catamounts?  Over the last three seasons Vermont is tied with Indiana with eight NCAA wins as the most in the country. In addition, they’ve played in three postseason matches that have gone to extra time over the last three years — and won all three (vs. Quinnipiac, at UCF, at San Diego) maintaining a 3-0 edge in those games.

Now, they’re seeking an elusive NCAA College Cup appearance.

Yaniv Bazini is the go-to goal scorer (12 goals and two assists) for Vermont. Pitt’s midfield will also be eyeing Sydney Watchuta, a creative player who’s among leaders in the country with a team-high 14 assists.

Bazini, red-shirt senior and native of Israel, who transferred from NC State after two seasons (2020-21), has emerged as the program’s all-time program leader in NCAA Tournament goals with eight and points with 17.

Sure enough, it was Bazini who scored the game-winner in the Third Round in extra time as the Catamounts escaped San Diego with a 1-0 win.  That penalty came in the opening seconds of extra time as Catamounts forward Ryan Zellefrow was taken down on the left side of the box.

Defensively, Vermont is solid. At center back, they boast American East’s Defensive Player of the Year, Zach Barrett, while in goal, Niklas Herceg has registered five shutouts, while compiling a 0.68 GAA.

Catamounts are one of four teams (UVM, UMass, Denver & Marshall) left in the Tournament to have never trailed in the 2024 NCAAs.

Pitt vs Vermont: Match-Ups To Watch 

Clearly Pitt’s been a dominant possession side this season.  With the exception of the second half in the first round against Cornell, the Panthers have controlled the ball and dictate terms of most matches they’ve played this season.

In the Third Round win vs Kansas City, the Panthers ended with 64 percent of the ball and dominated in shot attempts (22-5).

There’s little doubt that Pitt will have its opportunities in this match too, but the key will be converting on those moments.

The attack really got back going in the last match, scoring three times in the run of play, with three different goal scorers: Casper Grening, Arnau Vilamitjana and Albert Thorsen.

Analysis: Staying with the process, Pitt men’s soccer overcome obstacles in NCAA tournament run

Turning out wide, both the wide attackers, Thorsen and Grening along with the outside backs, Casper Svenby and Mateo Mailefaud will constantly be overlapping and be catalysts for its attack, while the team’s leading goal scorer through the season has been Luis Sahmkow (nine goals/three assists).

Thus far in the postseason, Sahmkow, who has served mostly as Pitt’s main target forward, has been quiet from a production standpoint, but he continues to draw defenders and open up space for everyone else.  There were a few times in the last match where balls into the box intended for Sahmkow were either slightly off the mark or the senior from Richardson, TX, had an ill-timed run.  That happened in the very late moments against Kansas City, as Sahmkow’s apparent game winner was wiped away as he was offside when converting a Svenby ball that slipped through with just one second left on the clock.

Vilamitjana and Wathuta could be two of the most dynamic playmakers remaining in the tournament.  It will be interesting to see how each side looks to contend with each of them.  Both players were responsible for setting up the game winners in last week’s extra time — as Vilamitjana hit Thorsen with a picture perfect ball while it was Wathuta, a native of Calgary, Alberta, Canada, who came up through the Vancouver Whitecaps Academy, who sent pass that earned the penalty kick.

An early goal will be massive for Pitt.

Vermont has not trailed this entire tournament.  In their match with San Diego Vermont were on their heels a few times, but held firm, thanks to strong collective play from the back line and midfield along with some outstanding saves from Herceg.

The Catamounts proved early in the tournament they have attacking firepower, scoring five goals to beat Iona. But if they hang around or get an early lead on Pitt, they could be tough to solve and can be a difficult opponent.

One x-factor could be depth.

Pitt only used one sub the entire Third Round match, while Vermont went six-deep.  With Gilman back, the Panthers will almost certainly go back to Gilman-Niklas Soerensen center back pairing, while using both Lasse Dahl and Felipe Mercado (who started against KC) off the bench, while moving Michael Sullivan off the back line and up into midfield rotation.  Miguel Bertran and Eben McIntyre were in the rotation for the Second Round match, so they’ll be potential players who could come in as well if Jay Vidovich’s feels that his group needs fresh legs.

Pitt MSOC Match Notes

Vilamitjana Coming Alive

Graduate midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana is the lone Panther with multiple goals in the NCAA Tournament. Over the last six matches, Vilamitjana has accumulated nine points.

PSN’s Griffin Floyd provided a profile on Pitt’s midfielder who doing more than sitting back deep in the center of the park.

‘Big Time’ Arnau Vilamitjana helps resurgent Panthers stay alive

Under Vidovich
Under head coach Jay Vidovich, Pitt is now 12-4-1 in NCAA Tournament games, including a 7-1-0 ledger at home. The Panthers have also now reached the national quarterfinals in four of the last five seasons.

Back on the Attack
Against Kansas City, Pitt posted its first goal in the run of play and its first multi-goal match since the 4-1 win over Virginia on Oct. 25.

National Marks
As a team, the Panthers rank in the top 25 nationally in eight statistical categories.

4. Corner Kicks Per Game (6.68)
10. Goal Differential (24)
14. Scoring Offense (2.11)
15. Total Goals (40)
16. Total Points (119)
16. Team GAA (0.838)
19. Points Per Game (6.26)
24. Assists Per Game (2.05)

Last Time Out – vs. Kansas City
Sophomore forward Albert Thorsen scored the game-winning goal in the 98th minute as Pitt secured its fourth NCAA Quarterfinal appearance in the past five seasons with a 3-2 win over Kansas City Sunday evening at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

Casper Grening netted a first half goal to help erase an early one-goal deficit and Vilamitjana scored for the second consecutive match as Pitt improved to 14-5-0 on the season. Vilamitjana along with Niklas Soerensen assisted on Thorsen’s game-winner.

The Panthers dominated the run of play throughout the contest 65 percent of the possession in the game. Much of Pitt’s time on the ball came on the attacking end of the field and resulted in a 22-5 shot advantage.

Kansas City got an early goal from Gabriele Galluccio in the sixth minute and erased a 2-1 Pitt lead with a set piece goal less than five minutes after Pitt had taken the lead in the second half. Julien Le Bourdoulous recorded assists on both goals for the Roos who concluded the season with a 14-5-3 record, while making their first NCAA Tournament.

Next Up

The winner of Saturday’s contest will advance to the 2024 College Cup in Cary, North Carolina. National Semifinal matches from Cary will be on Friday, December 13 and will air nationally on ESPNU at 5 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The winner between Pitt and UVM will face the winner of Saturday’s UMass/No. 3 Denver match.