Thursday, October 4
Pittsburgh, Pa.
7 PM
Pitt
vs
Miami
Pitt Returns Home, Hosts Miami
10/3/2018 1:42:00 PM | Women's Soccer
Panthers Set for Two at Ambrose Urbanic Field
PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh women's soccer team returns home Thursday evening, kicking off a two-game homestand in an ACC battle against Miami.
The Panthers and Hurricanes are set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
HOW TO FOLLOW
THE MATCHUP
Pitt (4-6-1, 0-4-0 ACC) returns to Ambrose Urbanic Field Thursday, hosting Miami in an ACC showdown. The Panthers return home after a tough road trip, where they fell in a trio of league matchups. Pitt dropped nationally-ranked matches to North Carolina and NC State before being edged out by a strong Virginia Tech team Sunday afternoon.
Offensively, freshman Anna Rico leads the team on the season, tallying six points in nine games. The rookie has found the back of the net three times on the year. Fellow freshman Madeline Gravante has scored two goals, while four other Panthers have scored once.
Freshman keeper Katherine Robinson made her second consecutive start and third of the season Sunday against the Hokies, tallying six saves in the loss. She has made 19 saves on the season in 286:20 minutes of action. Redshirt sophomore Amaia Pena has started eight contents, appearing in 10, tallying 42 saves with a .750 save percentage.
SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami (4-6-2, 1-3-0) is coming off a 1-0 victory over ACC foe Syracuse as the Hurricanes recorded their first league victory of the season. Miami opened ACC play with three straight losses to Clemson, Duke and Virginia Tech before emerging victorious over the Orange.
Offensively, Gudrun Haralz leads the team with four goals and a pair of assists, tallying 10 points in her freshman season. Miami has scored 14 goals on the year with eight different hurricanes finding the back of the net, including three players with two goals.
Redshirt junior Phallon Tullis-Joyce has made the start in all 12 games, tallying 1115:04 minutes of action. She has accumulated 41 saves on the season and owns a .707 save percentage.
THE SERIES WITH MIAMI
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams in a series dating back to the 1999 season. The Hurricanes own a 5-2-0 all-time advantage including a mark of 2-1-0 in Pittsburgh.
In the last meeting, Miami captured a 3-0 victory on its home turf. The last time the two teams met at Ambrose Urbanic Field, the Panthers emerged victorious, capturing a 1-0 overtime victory with a penalty kick goal.
TOUGH BOUTS
Of the remaining six games on Pitt's schedule, three will be against nationally-ranked teams. Of those three teams ranked nationally, all three rank in the top-15 and a pair check in in the top-10.
FRESHMEN FOOTING THE LOAD
First year players have made quite the impact for the Panthers in 2018, as the freshmen have tallied six of the team's nine goals this year. A pair of freshmen in Anna Rico (3) and Madeline Gravante (2) are the only pair of Panthers to have tallied multiple goals on the season.
RPI WATCH
The Panthers check in at No. 117 in the most recent RPI rankings. Of Pitt's remaining six games, four teams rank in the top 40 – Florida State (5), Virginia (17), Boston College (21) and Notre Dame (33).
MILESTONE 400
Head coach Randy Waldrum reached a career milestone in the team's season opener against Ohio, as he secured his 400th career victory. The win was the first for Waldrum as the Panther head coach as he is now the ninth winningest head coach in NCAA Division I
women's soccer history.
THE WALDRUM ERA
The season marks the beginning of the Randy Waldrum era as the first-year head coach and his staff begin their inaugural year with the Panthers. Waldrum is the fourth head coach in program history, bringing national experience to the Panthers' program.
Waldrum saw unprecedented success in his tenure at the helm of the perennial powerhouse Notre Dame women's program. In his 14 seasons, he led the Fighting Irish to two national championships, capturing the College Cup title in 2004 and 2010. His teams won eight Big East Tournament titles and appeared in eight NCAA Final Four games in that span.
A two-time national coach of the year (2009 by Soccer America; 2010 by NSCAA), Waldrum was the first coach in NCAA history to lead a team to a national title in his/her first season with a program. He wrapped up his tenure at Notre Dame with a mark of 292-58-17 (.819) and holds an overall record of 403-114-30 (.766) as a head coach on the women's side. His record ranks fourth in all-time wins as an NCAA women's head coach and third in win percentage.
NEWBIES
The Panthers feature 14 newcomers on the roster, as 50 percent of the 2018 squad is new to the program. Pitt will debut 11 freshmen and three transfers. Of the 2017 roster with nine or more games of experience, only six return – Taylor Pryce, Vildan Kardesler, Alli Higgs, Ashley Moreira, Cheyenne Hudson and Aideen O'Donoghue.
REDSHIRT RETURNERS
Two redshirt seniors, forward Taylor Pryce and midfielder Ashley Moreira, both of whom have attended the U-20 Canadian National Team Camp, will lead the Panthers this season. Pryce started 17 of the 18 games in 2014 and 2015, scoring game-winning goals versus Louisville and Wake Forest. In 2016, she competed in two games, with one shot on goal, before missing the rest of season due to injury. Last season Pryce finished as the team's top point scorer, recording 11 points and starting in all 18 games.
Moreira also started 17 of the 18 games in 2014 and recorded 1,330 minutes of playing time, which was the fourth highest on the team. In 2015, she started all 18 games and recorded seven shots on goal, scoring her first career goal in an overtime game-winner at Colorado College. She missed the 2016 season due to the U-20 Canadian National Team Camp, but bounced back last season logging 1,541 total minutes and starting all 18 games.
GOALKEEPERS
Redshirt sophomore Amaia Pena will lead this young goalkeeper squad with a 2.55 goals against average. Last season she logged just over 529 minutes of field time and made a career-high 10 saves in a 3-2 loss vs. Boston College.
Freshmen Katherine Robinson and Claire Hinkle will also compete for time this season.
MEET THE STAFF
Randy Waldrum is joined by three fresh faces on the 2018 coaching staff in Dustin Stein, Ben Waldrum and Riley Butler.
Stein joined the Panthers after nearly five years as the head coach at Eastfield College, where he was the winningest coach in program history. While at Eastfield, his teams tallied 14 or more wins in each of his last three seasons, and boasted a record of 42-12-3 in that stretch. Eastfield was amongst the top 10 NJCAA programs in each of the last three seasons as Stein was named the 2015 NJCAA Region 5 Division 3 Coach of the Year and the Metro Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
The younger Waldrum had served as a member of the FC Dallas staff since October of 2012, in the youth development program. In April 2015 he was promoted to head coach of the FCD Women. The team competed to a record of 34-3-3 under Waldrum's tutelage, appearing in the WPSL Playoffs in 2016 and 2017 and capturing the 2016 WPSL Southwest Conference championships.
This will be the younger Waldrum's second stint in the college ranks, as he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under his father at Notre Dame from 2003-08. With both Waldrums on staff, the Fighting Irish competed to a record of 111-13-5 and won the 2004 NCAA national title. He was a member of three NCAA College Cup appearances, won five Big East regular season titles and coached five All-Americans.
Butler came to the program after a four-year stint as the assistant men's coach at Radford University.
Butler helped lead the Highlanders to an overall record of 50-17-11, leading squads that were ranked in the top 25 in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Big South Tournament champions in 2016 and regular season champions in 2014, 2015 and 2016 earned NCAA berths in both 2015 and 2016 under Butler's tutelage.
SOCCER CREST UNVEILED
The crest features elements from the City of Pittsburgh, the city's iconic bridges and the three rivers surrounding the Steel City. The crest pays homage to the Cathedral of Learning arch-shape – a shield depicts a strong foundation, honing in on the arch shape only strengthens this idea.
The castle-like design at the top of the crest was inspired by the City of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh seals, as both feature a similar castle. The iconic bridge is based on the Sister Bridges (Clemente, Warhol, Rachel Carson) as there are over 446 bridges throughout the Pittsburgh region, more than any other city in the world. The idea of bridges also ties in with Pitt Athletics Department strategy of the Gold Standard. The bottom portion of the crest features the three rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio) that surround the Pittsburgh area.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to Ambrose Urbanic Sunday, hosting Clemson. The game will serve as the team's retro game with the Panthers donning throwback uniforms for the 1 p.m. kickoff.
#H2P | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
The Panthers and Hurricanes are set to kick off at 7 p.m. at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
HOW TO FOLLOW
- The game can be seen live on the ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN and the WatchESPN app.
- Live stats will be available via PittsburghPanthers.com.
- Fans fan follow along with live updates on Twitter @Pitt_WSOC.
THE MATCHUP
Pitt (4-6-1, 0-4-0 ACC) returns to Ambrose Urbanic Field Thursday, hosting Miami in an ACC showdown. The Panthers return home after a tough road trip, where they fell in a trio of league matchups. Pitt dropped nationally-ranked matches to North Carolina and NC State before being edged out by a strong Virginia Tech team Sunday afternoon.
Offensively, freshman Anna Rico leads the team on the season, tallying six points in nine games. The rookie has found the back of the net three times on the year. Fellow freshman Madeline Gravante has scored two goals, while four other Panthers have scored once.
Freshman keeper Katherine Robinson made her second consecutive start and third of the season Sunday against the Hokies, tallying six saves in the loss. She has made 19 saves on the season in 286:20 minutes of action. Redshirt sophomore Amaia Pena has started eight contents, appearing in 10, tallying 42 saves with a .750 save percentage.
SCOUTING MIAMI
Miami (4-6-2, 1-3-0) is coming off a 1-0 victory over ACC foe Syracuse as the Hurricanes recorded their first league victory of the season. Miami opened ACC play with three straight losses to Clemson, Duke and Virginia Tech before emerging victorious over the Orange.
Offensively, Gudrun Haralz leads the team with four goals and a pair of assists, tallying 10 points in her freshman season. Miami has scored 14 goals on the year with eight different hurricanes finding the back of the net, including three players with two goals.
Redshirt junior Phallon Tullis-Joyce has made the start in all 12 games, tallying 1115:04 minutes of action. She has accumulated 41 saves on the season and owns a .707 save percentage.
THE SERIES WITH MIAMI
This will be the eighth all-time meeting between the two teams in a series dating back to the 1999 season. The Hurricanes own a 5-2-0 all-time advantage including a mark of 2-1-0 in Pittsburgh.
In the last meeting, Miami captured a 3-0 victory on its home turf. The last time the two teams met at Ambrose Urbanic Field, the Panthers emerged victorious, capturing a 1-0 overtime victory with a penalty kick goal.
TOUGH BOUTS
Of the remaining six games on Pitt's schedule, three will be against nationally-ranked teams. Of those three teams ranked nationally, all three rank in the top-15 and a pair check in in the top-10.
FRESHMEN FOOTING THE LOAD
First year players have made quite the impact for the Panthers in 2018, as the freshmen have tallied six of the team's nine goals this year. A pair of freshmen in Anna Rico (3) and Madeline Gravante (2) are the only pair of Panthers to have tallied multiple goals on the season.
RPI WATCH
The Panthers check in at No. 117 in the most recent RPI rankings. Of Pitt's remaining six games, four teams rank in the top 40 – Florida State (5), Virginia (17), Boston College (21) and Notre Dame (33).
MILESTONE 400
Head coach Randy Waldrum reached a career milestone in the team's season opener against Ohio, as he secured his 400th career victory. The win was the first for Waldrum as the Panther head coach as he is now the ninth winningest head coach in NCAA Division I
women's soccer history.
THE WALDRUM ERA
The season marks the beginning of the Randy Waldrum era as the first-year head coach and his staff begin their inaugural year with the Panthers. Waldrum is the fourth head coach in program history, bringing national experience to the Panthers' program.
Waldrum saw unprecedented success in his tenure at the helm of the perennial powerhouse Notre Dame women's program. In his 14 seasons, he led the Fighting Irish to two national championships, capturing the College Cup title in 2004 and 2010. His teams won eight Big East Tournament titles and appeared in eight NCAA Final Four games in that span.
A two-time national coach of the year (2009 by Soccer America; 2010 by NSCAA), Waldrum was the first coach in NCAA history to lead a team to a national title in his/her first season with a program. He wrapped up his tenure at Notre Dame with a mark of 292-58-17 (.819) and holds an overall record of 403-114-30 (.766) as a head coach on the women's side. His record ranks fourth in all-time wins as an NCAA women's head coach and third in win percentage.
NEWBIES
The Panthers feature 14 newcomers on the roster, as 50 percent of the 2018 squad is new to the program. Pitt will debut 11 freshmen and three transfers. Of the 2017 roster with nine or more games of experience, only six return – Taylor Pryce, Vildan Kardesler, Alli Higgs, Ashley Moreira, Cheyenne Hudson and Aideen O'Donoghue.
REDSHIRT RETURNERS
Two redshirt seniors, forward Taylor Pryce and midfielder Ashley Moreira, both of whom have attended the U-20 Canadian National Team Camp, will lead the Panthers this season. Pryce started 17 of the 18 games in 2014 and 2015, scoring game-winning goals versus Louisville and Wake Forest. In 2016, she competed in two games, with one shot on goal, before missing the rest of season due to injury. Last season Pryce finished as the team's top point scorer, recording 11 points and starting in all 18 games.
Moreira also started 17 of the 18 games in 2014 and recorded 1,330 minutes of playing time, which was the fourth highest on the team. In 2015, she started all 18 games and recorded seven shots on goal, scoring her first career goal in an overtime game-winner at Colorado College. She missed the 2016 season due to the U-20 Canadian National Team Camp, but bounced back last season logging 1,541 total minutes and starting all 18 games.
GOALKEEPERS
Redshirt sophomore Amaia Pena will lead this young goalkeeper squad with a 2.55 goals against average. Last season she logged just over 529 minutes of field time and made a career-high 10 saves in a 3-2 loss vs. Boston College.
Freshmen Katherine Robinson and Claire Hinkle will also compete for time this season.
MEET THE STAFF
Randy Waldrum is joined by three fresh faces on the 2018 coaching staff in Dustin Stein, Ben Waldrum and Riley Butler.
Stein joined the Panthers after nearly five years as the head coach at Eastfield College, where he was the winningest coach in program history. While at Eastfield, his teams tallied 14 or more wins in each of his last three seasons, and boasted a record of 42-12-3 in that stretch. Eastfield was amongst the top 10 NJCAA programs in each of the last three seasons as Stein was named the 2015 NJCAA Region 5 Division 3 Coach of the Year and the Metro Athletic Conference Coach of the Year.
The younger Waldrum had served as a member of the FC Dallas staff since October of 2012, in the youth development program. In April 2015 he was promoted to head coach of the FCD Women. The team competed to a record of 34-3-3 under Waldrum's tutelage, appearing in the WPSL Playoffs in 2016 and 2017 and capturing the 2016 WPSL Southwest Conference championships.
This will be the younger Waldrum's second stint in the college ranks, as he served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator under his father at Notre Dame from 2003-08. With both Waldrums on staff, the Fighting Irish competed to a record of 111-13-5 and won the 2004 NCAA national title. He was a member of three NCAA College Cup appearances, won five Big East regular season titles and coached five All-Americans.
Butler came to the program after a four-year stint as the assistant men's coach at Radford University.
Butler helped lead the Highlanders to an overall record of 50-17-11, leading squads that were ranked in the top 25 in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The Big South Tournament champions in 2016 and regular season champions in 2014, 2015 and 2016 earned NCAA berths in both 2015 and 2016 under Butler's tutelage.
SOCCER CREST UNVEILED
The crest features elements from the City of Pittsburgh, the city's iconic bridges and the three rivers surrounding the Steel City. The crest pays homage to the Cathedral of Learning arch-shape – a shield depicts a strong foundation, honing in on the arch shape only strengthens this idea.
The castle-like design at the top of the crest was inspired by the City of Pittsburgh and University of Pittsburgh seals, as both feature a similar castle. The iconic bridge is based on the Sister Bridges (Clemente, Warhol, Rachel Carson) as there are over 446 bridges throughout the Pittsburgh region, more than any other city in the world. The idea of bridges also ties in with Pitt Athletics Department strategy of the Gold Standard. The bottom portion of the crest features the three rivers (Allegheny, Monongahela, Ohio) that surround the Pittsburgh area.
UP NEXT
The Panthers return to Ambrose Urbanic Sunday, hosting Clemson. The game will serve as the team's retro game with the Panthers donning throwback uniforms for the 1 p.m. kickoff.
#H2P | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram
Players Mentioned
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GK
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