Pitt Set For College Cup Semifinal Matchup Against #13 Indiana Friday Night

CARY, NC – With a trip to the 2022 National Championship match on the line, the Pitt men's soccer team (12-4-5, 3-2-3 ACC) will take on #13 Indiana Friday night at 8:30 pm in the 2022 College Cup Semifinal at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, NC. Friday night's match will air live on ESPNU with Dalen Cuff and Devon Kerr on the call.

FOLLOW ALONG

Friday night's contest will air live on ESPNU and can be found online HERE.
Live stats for Friday'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 Saturday afternoon on their home turf as Valentin Noel headed home the game-winner in the 104th minute to give Pitt the 1-0 Quarterfinal win over Portland.
Pitt is now 12-4-5 overall on the year as they head to their second College Cup in three years. Friday night's game against #13 Indiana is a rematch of the 2020 College Cup Semifinal, a game the Hoosiers won 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 78th minute.
Indiana enters the match Friday with a 13-4-6 overall record on the year as they collected NCAA Tournament wins over Saint Louis, Marshall and UNC Greensboro to advance to their 22nd College Cup in program history.
The dynamic French duo of Valentin Noel and Bertin Jacquesson have been on fire for the Panthers during their tournament run as they have combined for seven goals, two assists and 16 points across four NCAA Championship wins. Noel has four goals in the last three matches including the game-winner in the home victory over Portland Saturday as Jacquesson collected the primary assist on his 11th of the season.

THE SERIES – INDIANA

This meeting marks the third between the two programs all-time with the Hoosiers owning the 2-0 series lead against Pitt.
The last meeting between the two teams came in the 2020 College Cup Semifinal as Indiana downed Pitt 1-0 thanks to a goal in the 78th minute.
The First meeting between the two teams was in 2019, a match Indiana won 3-2 in double overtime at home.
Head Coach Jay Vidovich is 1-3-0 all-time against Indiana. His lone victory against the Hoosiers came in 2015 as his Wake Forest team downed IU 1-0 to advance to the Elite Eight.

SCOUTING THE HOOSIERS

The Hoosiers enter Friday night's match with a 13-4-6 overall record and a 3-1-4 B1G mark. They have collected three wins in a row after falling to Rutgers in the B1G Championship match.
Fifth year forward Ryan Wittenbrink is leading the Hosiers offensive attack as he has nine goals, nine assists and 27 points to go along with a team-high 54 shots on the year. He also ranks 5th in the NCAA with five game-winning goals on the year.
Tommy Mihalic ranks second on the squad with six goals, two assists and 14 points while Herbert Endeley has three goals, five assists and 11 points in 22 matches. Endeley netted the game-winner against Pitt in the 2020 College Cup Semifinal match.
In goal, JT Harms has earned eight straight starts while starting a total of 15 on the season. He owns a 8-3-4 overall record to go along with a .709 save percentage, 1.04 goals against average and five shutouts. So far in the NCAA Tournament, Helms has made six saves in three matches.

COLLEGE CUP BOUND: AGAIN

With their 1-0 double overtime win over Portland Saturday, the Panthers secured their second College Cup appearance in program history. Both of which have come in the last three years.
Pitt will take on a familiar foe in the Semifinal match Friday night as they also played Indiana in their first ever College Cup appearance in 2020, falling 1-0 in that Semifinal match.
Although the matchup is similar, Pitt has a completely new squad as only five current players were on the 2020-21 roster that played against Indiana in the College Cup. 23 players from that squad are no longer with the Pitt program, six of which are playing soccer professionally.
The five current players who played Indiana last time are Valentin Noel, Bertin Jacquesson, Rodrigo Almeida, Filip Mirkovic and Jackson Walti.
Noel, Jacquesson, Mirkovic and Walti all started the match, combining for six of the Panthers' 14 shots in the loss.

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.
Pitt has advanced to the Elite Eight in three straight seasons while earning a bid to the College Cup in two of the last three seasons.
Pitt currently owns a 10-2-1 record in NCAA Tournament games all-time.
Pitt has outscored their opponents 33-12 in NCAA Tournament matches. The Panthers have also secured six clean sheets in their 13 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
12/3/22            Portland           W, 1-0 (2OT)

PITT PLACES TWO ON ALL-REGION TEAM

The Panthers placed a pair of student-athletes on the All-South Region First Team, marking the third straight year Pitt had multiple First Team honorees.
Valentin Noel earned the recognition for the third straight season while Filip Mirkovic earned his first All-Region honor of his career.
The Panthers have now had 18 All-Region honorees including 14 under the watchful eye of Jay Vidovich.

WALTI PLAYS 100^TH CAREER MATCH

Graduate student Jackson Walti has been a stalwart in the central midfield for the Panthers since stepping foot on campus in 2018.
Walti went from a walk-on his first season, to one of the most reliable and talented players in Pitt program history. His work rate and the fact that he hasn't missed a practice throughout his collegiate career makes Walti one of the most important players on the pitch each match.
The three-year captain currently leads all active NCAA Division I soccer players in minutes played with 8,979 career minutes for Pitt.
Walti is just 116 minutes shy of Erik Imler's NCAA record for minutes played in a career (9,095 minutes).
Last time out, Walti played in his 100th career collegiate match. The milestone appearance is a program record for a Pitt player and also leads all active Division I players for games played.
This season, Walti has started all 21 matches at his holding midfield position and has played all but 14 minutes for the Panthers. He has added a career-high two goals and four points offensively as well.
A three-year team captain and native of Switzerland, Walti has appeared in 100 matches and started 97 across his career while adding six goals, five assists, 17 points and 48 shots.

UP NEXT

With a win, Pitt would advance to their first ever National Championship match which would be on Monday, Dec. 12 at 6:00 pm at WakeMed Soccer Park. Monday's Championship match will air on ESPNU.

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