Pitt Welcomes Portland Saturday Afternoon For Elite Eight Showdown

PITTSBURGH – With a trip to the 2022 College Cup on the line, the Pitt men's soccer team (11-4-5, 3-2-3 ACC) hosts Portland in the NCAA Championship Quarterfinals Saturday afternoon at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Saturday's match will start at 1:00 pm and air live on ESPN+ with Kevin Wheeler and David Day on the call.

Hosting an Elite Eight match for the first time, Pitt will be looking to advance to their second College Cup in the last three seasons. With a win Saturday afternoon, Pitt would move on to Cary, NC to take on the winner of Indiana and UNC Greensboro in the national semifinals on Friday, Dec. 9.

FOLLOW ALONG

Saturday afternoon's contest will air live on ESPN+ and can be found online HERE.
Live stats for Saturday's game can be found HERE.
Live updates throughout the game will also be posted on Twitter by following the Pitt men's soccer account @Pitt_MSOC.

THE OPENING KICK

The Panthers continued their run in the 2022 NCAA Championships Sunday night as they knocked off the previously unbeaten and #1 overall seed Kentucky on the road, 2-1 thanks to a Bertin Jacquesson marker in the 87th minute.
Pitt is now 11-4-5 overall on the year as they host Portland Saturday afternoon at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Pitt will be looking for their second trip to the College Cup in the last three years.
Portland comes to Pittsburgh with a 15-2-3 overall record after collecting tournament wins over UC Riverside, #8 Oregon State and Western Michigan. Overall the Pilots have won five straight entering the match Saturday.
The dynamic French duo of Valentin Noel and Bertin Jacquesson netted both goals in the Panthers' upset victory over Kentucky on Sunday. The duo has now combined to score 18 goals this season and 53 across their careers. Noel now sits in second place on the all-time goals chart (34) and points chart (81) while Jacquesson is second all-time in assists (22) and seventh in points (60).

THE SERIES – PORTLAND

This meeting marks the first meeting of all-time between the two squads.
Pitt is 0-1-0 all-time against current members of the West Coast Conference (WCC) as they fell 1-0 at home against Saint Mary's (Ca.) in 2016.

SCOUTING THE PILOTS

The Pilots enter Saturday's match with a 15-2-3 overall record as they downed Western Michigan 1-0 last weekend at home to advance their first Elite Eight since 1995.
Portland opened their NCAA Tournament run with a 2-1 home victory over UC Riverside before downing Oregon State 2-0 on the road in the second round and taking out WMU in the Sweet 16.
Portland ranks 4th in the NCAA in goals (51) and points (154) while ranking ninth in assists (52). They own the 2nd best goal differential in the nation (+33).
The potent offense is led by Brandon Cambridge who has 12 goals, seven assists and 31 points on 50 shots so far this season. He has also netted a team-best five game-winning goals.
Jacob Babalai has eight goals, four assists and 20 points while Sebastian Nava leads the team with 10 assists while adding four goals on the season.
In goal, George Tasouris has started all 20 matches as he owns a 15-2-3 record to go along with a 0.92 goals against average, .753 save percentage and eight clean sheets.

FEELING ELITE

For the third straight season, the Panthers have earned a spot in the Elite Eight as they upset #1 Kentucky on the road, 2-1, last weekend.
Pitt is the only team in the country to advance to each of the last three Elite Eight's.
The Panthers are 1-0-1 all-time in Elite Eight games. They tied #4 Notre Dame last season on the road but fell 4-2 in penalty kicks. Pitt defeated #7 Washington to advance to the College Cup in 2021, downing the Huskies 3-0 in Cary, NC.
This marks the first time in program history the Panthers have hosted a NCAA Championship Quarterfinal match at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

PANTHERS IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

This marks the fourth straight season and fourth time overall the Panthers have earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
The Panthers have now won at least one tournament game in all four seasons they have earned a bid.
This marks the Panthers' third straight trip to the Elite Eight and third overall in program history.
Pitt currently owns a 9-2-1 record in NCAA Tournament games all-time.
The Panthers are in search of their second College Cup appearance in the last three seasons.
Pitt has outscored their opponents 32-12 in NCAA Tournament matches. The Panthers have also secured five clean sheets in their 12 NCAA Tournament matches all-time.

Date                 Opponent         Result
11/21/20          Lehigh              W, 2-0
11/24/20          at Georgetown L, 5-0
5/2/21              Monmouth       W, 6-1
5/6/21              UCF                  W, 4-0
5/10/21            Washington      W, 3-0
5/14/21            Indiana             L, 1-0
11/21/21          No. Illinois        W, 5-2
11/27/21          Hofstra             W, 4-0
12/4/21            at Notre Dame T, 1-1
11/17/22          Cleveland St.     W, 2-1
11/20/22          at Akron           W, 3-0
11/27/22          at Kentucky      W, 2-1

SCORING POINTS IN BUNCHES

The Panthers have scored 41 goals, 46 assists and 128 points so far this season.
The 46 assists are the second most in a single season in program history while the 128 points are the third most in a single season in program history. The 41 goals are ninth all-time.
Overall, the Panthers have five players who have recorded at least 10 points and two with 20+ points.
Senior Valentin Noel leads the squad with 23 points while Bertin Jacquesson ranks second with 20 points and Filip Mirkovic leads the team with 12 assists.

HOME TURF ADVANTAGE

The Panthers have been one of the best teams in the country on their home turf over the last four seasons as they own a 31-4-5 record at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
Pitt held a 19-match home winning streak from Oct. 7, 2019 to Nov. 10, 2021, which at the time was the longest streak in the ACC and second longest unbeaten streak in the nation.
Head coach Jay Vidovich is 35-17-7 at home in his seven seasons at Pitt.
Since the start of the 2019 season, Pitt has outscored its opponents 107-40 at home including a 23-12 advantage this season.
The Panthers win percentage (.838) at home since 2019 is the best in the ACC and tied for 7th best overall in the NCAA.

Home Win % Since 2019

# TEAM                  RECORD             %
1. Georgetown        37-2-5           .898
2. New Hampshire   33-2-4           .897
3. Missouri State     34-3-3           .888
4. Kentucky             38-4-5           .861
5. Campbell             31-3-6           .850
6. Cornell                18-2-3           .848
7. Pitt                     31-4-5           .838
8. Washington         33-6-2           .829
9. Clemson              37-7-4           .813
10. Yale                     13-3-3            .763

UP NEXT

With a win, Pitt would advance to their second College Cup in three years. They will play the winner of Indiana and UNC Greensboro in the NCAA Championship Semifinal at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC on Friday, Dec. 9.

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