No. 10 Pitt Opens ACC Play Friday Night At North Carolina

PITTSBURGH – The Pitt men's soccer team (3-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC) returns to action Friday night as they open Atlantic Coast Conference play on the road against the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-1-0, 0-0-0 ACC). Friday night's match will start at 7:00 pm and will air live on ACC Network extra with Ben George (play-by-play) and Cedric Burke (color analyst) on the call.

FOLLOW ALONG

Friday night's contest will be live on ACC Network Extra 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 SERIES – NORTH CAROLINA

This meeting marks the 10th all-time between the two programs with the Tar Heels owning the 8-1 record against the Panthers.
Pitt won last seasons meeting 4-0 at Ambrose Urbanic Field as Rodrigo Almeida netted two goals and Valentin Noel added a goal of his own in the victory.
The Tar Heels are 4-0 all-time against Pitt in games played in Chapel Hill.
The first meeting between the two teams came in 2013 in Pittsburgh, a game that was won 1-0 by UNC.

SCOUTING THE TAR HEELS

North Carolina enters Friday's match with a 2-1 overall record after falling at home to Florida International Saturday, 2-1.
With the loss, the Tar Heels dropped out of the United Soccer Coaches Top-25 Poll. They are receiving nine votes in this week's poll.
Milo Garvanian is leading the UNC offensive attack so far this season as he has two goals, one assist and five points while Hilli Goldhar and Key White have each netted a goal on the year.
UNC was picked to finish second in the Coastal Division behind Pitt in the preseason coaches poll. Midfielder Sebastian Schacht was tabbed to the ACC Preseason Watch List.
Defender Til Zinnhardt was named to the MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List after spending three successful seasons at Tulsa, earning 44 starts for the Golden Hurricanes.

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 haven't disappointed early on as they have combined for six goals and 15 points through four games.
Jacquesson collected the game-winning goal in the 5-0 win over Howard while Noel collected an assist.
The two Frenchmen have combined to score 38 goals for Pitt over the last three seasons. The 38 goals are the most by any duo in the ACC over the last three seasons.
Noel currently ranks fifth in program history in goals (27) and sixth in points (65). He is one point shy of fifth place (Alexander Dexter) and two points shy of fourth place (Robert Cuthbert) on the all-time list.
Jacquesson is currently third in program history in assists (20). He currently leads all active players in the NCAA in assists per game (.48).
Noel has racked up 65 points in 60 career games while Jacquesson has 48 points in 42 career games.

EXPERIENCED IN THE MIDFIELD

Graduate student Jackson Walti has been a stalwart in the central midfield for the Panthers since stepping foot on campus in 2018.
Walti currently leads all NCAA Division I soccer player in minutes played with 7,410 career minutes for Pitt. His 83 games played also the most by any Division I player.
A native of Switzerland, Walti has appeared in 83 matches and started 80 across his career while adding four goals, five assists and 37 shots.
Junior Filip Mirkovic also brings loads of experience to the field for the Panthers as he has appeared in 41 matches and started 37 across his young career.
Mirkovic returned to the lineup Monday night and responded with a goal and assist. It marked his sixth multi-point game of his career.
The junior has posted seven goals, eight assists and 22 points to go along with 46 shots in three years of action.

VAN DER SAR SOLID BETWEEN THE PIPES FOR PITT

After serving as the backup goalkeeper for the Panthers last season, senior goalkeeper Joe van der Sar had made a nice transition into the starting role for Pitt.
The talented keeper has started all four games for the Panthers this season as he owns a 3-1 record and a 0.75 goals against average with two shutouts.
After making his first career start in the win over No. 2 Georgetown, van der Sar notched his first career clean sheet in the Panthers' 3-0 victory over No. 6 West Virginia last week at home. He then collected his second shutout of the season against Howard Monday.
He is the son of former professional goalkeeper Edwin van der Sar who is considered by many as one of the best goalkeepers of all-time. Edwin is currently the Chief Executive of AFC Ajax, a team who plays in the top division in the Netherlands.
Edwin made 605 appearances in goal for Ajax, Juventus, Fulham and Manchester United across his professional career. He also made 130 appearances for the Netherlands National Team.

UP NEXT

No. 10 Pitt returns home Friday, Sept. 16 as they play host to NC State at 7:00 pm at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Friday's match will air live on ACC Network.

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No. 10 Pitt Opens ACC Play Friday Night At North Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Alexander Dexter

Bertin Jacquesson

Filip Mirkovic

Valentin Noel

Joe van der Sar

Jackson Walti

No. 10 Pitt Opens ACC Play Friday Night At North Carolina

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Rodrigo Almeida

Alexander Dexter

Bertin Jacquesson

Filip Mirkovic

Valentin Noel

Joe van der Sar

Jackson Walti

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