No. 7 Pitt Ready To Brawl As No. 6 West Virginia Comes To Town Monday Night

PITTSBURGH – The No. 7 Pitt men's soccer team (1-0-0) returns to Ambrose Urbanic Field Monday night as they welcome No. 6 West Virginia for a non-conference rivalry match. Monday's match against the Mountaineers will kick off at 7:00 pm and will air live on ACC Network with Dalen Cuff and Devon Kerr on the call.

Monday's matchup against West Virginia marks the second straight top-10 matchup for the Panthers to open the 2022 campaign. It is the first time in program history Pitt has played back-to-back top-10 opponents to open a season.

FOLLOW ALONG

Monday night's contest will be live on the ACC Network and can be found online HERE.
Live stats for Monday'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 BACKYARD BRAWL – 51^st EDITION

This meeting marks the 51^st game between the two rivals with West Virginia owning the 35-10-5 advantage in the all-time series.
The Mountaineers have won each of the last two meetings by the same score, 2-1, including last season in Morgantown.
The last victory for Pitt in the series came in 2017 as they handed West Virginia a 7-0 loss at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
West Virginia holds the 18-7-2 advantage in games played in Pittsburgh all-time while the series is tied 1-1-0 at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

SCOUTING THE MOUNTAINEERS

West Virginia enters Monday's match ranked No. 6 in the United Soccer Coaches poll. They are 1-0-0 on the season as they opened up with a 1-0 victory over Robert Morris Thursday night at home.
The Mountaineers lone goal was awarded as an own goal as they held the 8-2 lead in shots while placing four on goal in the win. Both teams only earned one corner each in the season opener.
West Virginia was tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the Sun Belt Conference as they earned five first place votes while junior defender Bjarne Thiesen was selected to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Team.
Thiesen was also named to the Mac Hermann Trophy Watch List on Thursday. He earned Third Team All-America honors following his strong 2021 campaign.
They have 16 players who have earned at least one career start.

THE FRENCH CONNECTION

The combination of midfielder Valentin Noel and forward Bertin Jacquesson has been deadly for the Panthers over the past three seasons.
The two prolific scorers didn't disappoint in the season opening win over No. 2 Georgetown as they scored both goals for the Panthers in the win.
Jacquesson opened the scoring in the fifth minute of the game as he buried the tying goal into the upper left corner off a tough angle from right of the goal.
Noel then got his first of the season just over six minutes later as he took a great cross by Jacquesson and placed a perfect shot under the crossbar for the game-winner.
The two Frenchmen have combined to score 34 goals for Pitt over the last three seasons. The 34 goals are the most by any duo in the ACC over the last three seasons.
Noel currently ranks fifth in program history in goals (25) and eighth in points (60).
Jacquesson is currently third in program history in assists (19). He has also recorded 43 points in 39 career matches for the Panthers.

FACING RANKED OPPONENTS

The Panthers are no stranger to nationally ranked opponents and they will face their second straight nationally ranked foe Monday night in Oakland as No. 6 West Virginia comes to town.
Pitt opened the season with a 2-1 win over the No. 2 Georgetown Hoyas Thursday.
Pitt is now 4-0-1 against top-5 opponents over the last two seasons as they downed North Carolina (No. 4), Clemson (No. 2) and Duke (No. 3) during the regular season and tied Notre Dame (No. 4) in the Elite Eight last season.
Overall, Pitt is 5-0-1 against nationally ranked foes over the last two seasons.
Over the last three seasons, Pitt owns a 9-3-1 record against ranked opponents.

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 25-3-1 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 31-16-3 at home in his seven seasons at Pitt.
Since the start of the 2019 season, Pitt has outscored its opponents 86-29 at home including a 43-12 advantage last season.

ACC Home Win % Last 4 Seasons
1. Pitt                     25-3-1              .879
2. Clemson             31-3-4              .868
3. Wake Forest        31-5-3              .833
4. BC                      15-2-5              .795
5. Virginia               26-8-3              .743

UP NEXT

Pitt hits the road for their first match away from home Friday, Sept. 2 as they travel to Marshall for a 7:00 pm first kick.
Friday's match against the Herd will be the fifth all-time between the two squads with Pitt owning the 2-0-2 advantage in the series.

No. 7 Pitt Ready To Brawl As No. 6 West Virginia Comes To Town Monday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bertin Jacquesson

Valentin Noel

No. 7 Pitt Ready To Brawl As No. 6 West Virginia Comes To Town Monday Night

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Bertin Jacquesson

Valentin Noel

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