ACC Roundup: Pitt’s play in ACC so far leaves much room for growth

Today marks one full month since the 2013-2014 school year started at Pitt. And it marks one month since Pitt Athletics began play as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which finally put the hype of a shiny new conference to rest and began giving substance to what the transition actually meant to Pitt’s teams. 

During this month, the early results lean to the negative side, as most teams enter the thick of their conference schedule after slow starts in conference play. Of every team to debut in the ACC, each lost its conference opener, and in seven conference games played by the men’s and women’s soccer teams and the football team, Pitt holds a record of 1-8.

Women’s volleyball is the only sport that has yet to make its debut in the ACC, but the Panthers do so this weekend at the Fitzgerald Field House in a match against Clemson on Friday followed by a matchup against Georgia Tech on Sunday. 

Football: 2-1, 1-1 ACC

Pitt football is the only sport to see the Panthers post a victory in ACC play — the team’s 58-55 victory over Duke Saturday. The Panthers rang up 598 yards of total offense and are averaging 40 points per game after the offensive explosion. 

The season took something of a downturn right at the start when Pitt lost 41-13 to No. 11 Florida State. Pitt took a 7-0 lead on the game’s first drive, but the Seminoles dominated the rest of the way behind 356 passing yards and three touchdowns from quarterback Jameis Winston to show Pitt what the class of the ACC looks like. 

The Panthers have a golden opportunity to go above .500 in conference play when looking at Saturday’s Homecoming game against Virginia. The Cavaliers (2-1, 0-0 ACC) were chosen to finish sixth in the ACC’s Coastal Division in the conference’s preseason media poll. 

Virginia is one of two teams picked to finish behind Pitt this season — the Panthers are expected to finish the season in the conference’s fifth spot. Duke sits in last place in the preseason poll.

Men’s soccer: 0-3-2, 0-3 ACC

It’s been a rough start for the Pitt men’s soccer team, who were chosen to finish last in the conference’s preseason poll. 

The team almost started its season with a victory on North Carolina State’s home turf. Behind five saves from goaltender Dan Lynd, the Panthers took the Wolfpack to overtime, only to lose 1-0. 

Since then, it’s only gotten tougher for the Panthers. In their ACC home opener against Boston College, the Panthers carried a 1-0 lead into halftime against the Eagles. 

But in the final 10 minutes of the contest, Boston College scored the tying and go-ahead goals to take a 2-1 victory.

Pitt lost its next match against No. 24 Wake Forest, a squad picked to finish third in the conference’s preseason poll. The Demon Deacons shut Pitt out 2-0 as they scored a pair of goals in the match’s first 12 minutes. 

There have been some positives for the team, notably the play of Lynd in goal. Against Wake Forest, Lynd saved 10 shots.

Although that statistic is a testament to Lynd’s abilities in goal, it also sheds light on the play of a defense that allows its opposition to take many quality chances at its final line of resistance. 

Women’s soccer: 4-5-1, 0-4 ACC

Like the men’s contingent, Pitt’s women’s soccer team is yet to post a victory in conference play. But the women posted four wins in non-conference play to at least get on the board in that category. 

Similarly to the men’s side, the Panthers were picked to finish last in the ACC this season out of the 14 conference teams. 

So far, the Panthers have been shut out in three of their four conference games and own a goal differential of minus-eight in four games. 

Pitt started its conference slate with back-to-back losses in front of its home crowd, losing 3-0 to Boston College in its ACC debut. The Panthers followed that with a 1-0 loss to North Carolina State and then lost 2-0 at Clemson. 

Pitt’s best effort came against the nation’s No. 3-ranked team, Virginia, who was ranked No. 1 when the Cavaliers visited Ambrose Urbanic Field this past weekend. Pitt took a 1-0 lead in the first half, its first lead in any conference game. 

But that lasted for just 15 minutes, after which Virginia tied the game in the 27th minute and scored twice in the second half to put the match away.

It doesn’t appear Pitt has the best chances to pick up its first conference win in the near future. Tonight, Pitt plays No. 4 North Carolina at home and faces No. 8 Notre Dame in South Bend next week. 

North Carolina was chosen to finish first in the preseason rankings, and the Fighting Irish came in fifth in the poll.