Pitt
James Madison
Pitt Welcomes James Madison For NCAA Championship First Round Match Thursday
11/15/2023 3:00:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PITTSBURGH – The Pitt men's soccer team (6-6-4, 2-3-3 ACC) will host the James Madison Dukes in the NCAA Championship First Round Thursday night at Ambrose Urbanic Field at 7:00 pm. It marks the third straight season the Panthers earned the right to host a first round match.
FOLLOW ALONG
- Thursday night's contest will air live on ESPN+ and can be found online HERE.
- Live stats for Thursday'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 VS. JAMES MADISON
- This meeting marks the third all-time between the two programs with James Madison winning each of the previous two meetings.
- The Dukes collected a 2-0 home win in the first meeting between the two sides in 2010.
- The last time the two met was in 2017 as JMU earned a 1-0 win over the Panthers in Columbus on a neutral field.
- This will be the first meeting between the two teams in the postseason.
SCOUTING THE DUKES
- James Madison earned an at large bid to the tournament after posting a 8-4-5 overall record and a 4-2-3 Sun Belt Conference mark.
- Offensively, JMU is led by Rodrigo Robles who has seven goals, six assists and 20 points on 31 shots while Evan Southern has six goals, five assists and 17 points on 28 shots so far this season.
- Clay Obara has netted six goals, three assists and 15 points on a team-high 33 shots while Kevin Larsson has five goals, five assists and 15 points.
- In goal, Sebastian Conlon owns a 8-4-5 record with a 1.28 goals-against average while securing two clean sheets.
LAST TIME OUT VS. LOUISVILLE
- The Panthers fell in the first round of the ACC Tournament on Nov. 1 to the Louisville Cardinals, 2-1 in double overtime.
- After entering extra time scoreless, the Cardinals netted a pair of goals in just under two minutes in the second overtime period to secure the win.
- Pitt made it 2-1 in the 106th minute as Joao Souza found the back of the net after an assist by Eben McIntyre and Fabian Grau but it wasn't enough as Pitt bowed out in the first round.
- For the match, Pitt held the dominant 22-13 edge in shots and 10-2 lead in corner kicks.
- In goal, Cabral Carter finished his night with seven saves while his counterpart for the Cardinals made nine in the win.
PITT IN THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
- This marks the fifth straight season and seventh time overall the Panthers have earn a bid in the NCAA Tournament.
- The Panthers own a 10-5-1 overall record in NCAA Tournament games in program history including a 10-3-1 record under Jay Vidovich.
- Since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program, Pitt owns a 5-0-0 record in NCAA Tournament home matches.
- Pitt has collected at least one win in each of the previous four NCAA Tournament's including a pair of runs to the College Cup (four victories).
NCAA'S UNDER JAY VIDOVICH
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)
12/9/22 Indiana L, 2-0
THREE PANTHERS EARN ALL-ACC HONORS
- Following the conclusion of the regular season, the Panthers saw three players earn a spot on an All-ACC team as voted by ACC coaches.
- Pitt has placed a total of 45 student-athletes on All-ACC teams since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program eight years ago.
- Senior Filip Mirkovic earned First Team honors for the second straight season after notching a team-high nine assists so far this season.
- Sophomore defender Jackson Gilman was named to the Third Team for the first time in his career after posting a career year offensively with two goals, two assists and six points. Defensively he helped Pitt secure six clean sheets on the year.
- Albert Thorsen earned the All-Freshman Team nod after posting four goals, two assists and 10 points in 12 games.
PANTHERS OWN NO. 1 STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE IN NATION
- What has become an every season thing for the Panthers since head coach Jay Vidovich took over the program, Pitt once again has played one of the hardest schedules in the nation.
- Pitt currently owns the hardest strength of schedule in the nation heading into the NCAA Tournament.
- Pitt's opponents also own the 11th hardest strength of schedule in the country this year.
- The Panthers have played seven of the top 16 seeded teams in the NCAA Tournament so far this season.
- Four of Pitt's six losses this season have come against programs currently ranked ahead of the Panthers (No. 30) in the RPI poll.
NEXT UP
- With a win, the Panthers would advance to the NCAA Championship Second Round for the fifth straight season and travel to take on No. 4 Georgetown on Sunday, Nov. 19.
