Pitt
0-0-1, 0-0-0
Penn State
0-0-1, 0-0-0
Thorsen Nets Second Half Goal As No. 5 Pitt Draws Penn State, 1-1
8/24/2023 9:55:00 PM | Men's Soccer
PITTSBURGH – The No. 5 Pitt men's soccer team opened the 2023 season with a 1-1 draw against rival Penn State in front of a record-setting capacity crowd (2,000) at Ambrose Urbanic Field Thursday evening. The sellout crowd marked the second straight season opening sellout for Pitt.
The Panthers had the first chance of the match in the 10th minute as Filip Mirkovic sent a great ball into the box where Luis Sahmkow got a head on the ball and narrowly missed the upper left corner.
Late in the half, Guilherme Feitosa headed a ball towards an open goal but the Penn State keeper made a diving save heading back towards his goal. On the counter, the Nittany Lions buried the first goal of the match as Van Danielson raced in on goal and beat Cabral Carter to the low left corner.
Pitt nearly tied the match in the final second of the half but Michael Sullivan saw his long shot attempt saved by a diving keeper in the upper right corner to send it to half with Penn State leading 1-0.
Pitt kept pressing for the tying goal in the second half and finally broke through in the 79th minute as Albert Thorsen netted his first collegiate goal after a great cross by Abdoulaye Toure. Feitosa started the play as he played Toure in down the left wing and he sent a great ball into the box where Thorsen buried it into the left corner.
Following the Pitt goal, neither team was able to break through with the game deciding goal as it ended in a draw. It marked the first draw in the all-time series between the teams since 1976.
Pitt returns to action Monday, Aug. 28 as they welcome the Howard Bison to Ambrose Urbanic Field for a non-conference battle. Monday's match will air on ACC Network Extra at 7:00 pm.
Notes
- Pitt is unbeaten in five straight home openers and they are now 39-18-10 all-time (4-2-2 under Vidovich)
- The Panthers improve to 32-4-6 at home since 2019, the best mark in the ACC and the seventh best winning percentage in the country over the span
- Sellout crowd of 2,000 marked the second straight home opening match the Panthers have sold out
- Five players earned their first career start for the Panthers Thursday night against Penn State. Cabral Carter made his first career start in goal while Raphael Cilli, Fabian Grau, Thorsen and Toure each made their collegiate debuts
- The goal for Thorsen marked the first of his collegiate career
- The assist for Toure marked the first point of his collegiate career
Team Stats
Van Danielson (1)
Assisted By: Sean Bettenhausen
GOAL by PSU Danielson, Van Assist by Bettenhausen, Sean.
43:33
Albert Thorsen (1)
Assisted By: Abdoulaye Toure , Guilherme Feitosa
GOAL by PIT Thorsen, Albert Assist by Toure, Abdoulaye and Feitosa, Guilherme.
79:10
