Soccer: Men open ACC play, women host Toledo

Pitt men’s soccer plays in its inaugural Atlantic Coast Conference match tonight against the North Carolina State Wolfpack at Dail Soccer Field. As each team opens conference play, Pitt (0-0-2) looks for its first win of the season, while North Carolina State (1-0-0) will try to get an early-season winning spell going. 

Matchup history

Tonight’s match is only the third time that the new conference rivals will face each other and the first time since 1956. The all-time series is deadlocked at one victory apiece. 

The first match, in 1955, went the way of the Wolfpack, 2-1, but the rematch went 4-1 to the Panthers the next year. Nearly 60 years later, the two teams will now meet on an annual basis.

NC State’s season outlook

Last season, the NC State Wolfpack had a lot of trouble in-conference. The team won just one conference game, and finished 0-4 at Dail Field against ACC opponents, with the team finishing 10-10 (1-7 ACC) overall. 

The 2013 outlook is a little brighter for the ‘Pack, as the team is predicted to finish 10th in the ACC — ahead of Virginia Tech and Pitt. The team returns Fabian Otte, starting goaltender for the majority of last season, and last season’s top performer, Alex Martinez. 

Last season, Martinez scored the third-most goals in the ACC with 11, posted the second-most points at 32 and had a league-leading 10 assists all en route to being named First-Team All-ACC.

In total, NC State returns eight of its 11 starters from last season.

NC State’s season so far

The NC State Wolfpack have played just one game this season, a 2-0 shutout victory over Campbell University. In the game, a pair of newcomers scored the Wolfpack’s goals. 

In the 45th minute, freshman Davi Ramos gave NC State a 1-0 lead, a margin that would stand until transfer Clement Simonin put the game away for good in the 55th minute. 

In the goal, senior goaltender Otte paced the Wolfpack with five saves to earn the shutout.

Pitt’s season so far

Pitt has played to draws in both of its first two games this season. The first came last Friday evening against Oakland University. 

In that game, the Panthers received a goal each from Chu Chu Onyeukwu and Ryan Myers. Sunday, Pitt played to a 0-0 draw as sophomore Dan Lynd saved three shots and earned his first career shutout.

Player to watch

If the Panthers want to have success in tonight’s contest, they must be able to stop midfielder Martinez. As noted above, Martinez was one of the top performers in the ACC last season, as well as NC State’s most effective offensive option. 

Martinez is a great passer and finisher, and the Panthers must key in on him the entire game. 

Tonight, Pitt women’s soccer (3-1-1) will host its final non-conference matchup of the season, when they welcome in the Toledo Rockets (1-3) to Ambrose Urbanic Field. 

The match marks the sixth game that the Panthers have played in the last two weeks, and their fourth game in a week. Toledo has been off since last Sunday, when the Rockets hosted Kentucky. 

Toledo season so far

So far, Toledo has lost to Minnesota (2-1), Belmont (3-2) and Kentucky (2-1). The Rockets’ lone win this season came last Friday against the Youngstown State Penguins, 2-1. 

Toledo has been paced by tri-captain Rachael Macleod. The senior has scored three times for the Rockets in their first four games. Macleod is especially important to the team, as the Rockets lost five starters from last season’s team. 

Toledo is predicted to finish first in the Western division of the Mid-Atlantic Conference this season. 

Pitt’s season so far

Pitt notched three victories over Duquesne, Bucknell and Central Michigan. In the three games, Pitt starting goalie Nicole D’Agostino has not allowed a goal. 

In the lone loss of the season against Ohio State, D’Agostino allowed two goals. 

On Wednesday, the Panthers drew the Robert Morris Colonials 1-1. Pitt dominated the game early on, with the team taking a 1-0 lead just 10 minutes into the game.

Robert Morris scored the equalizer in the 31st minute, and though Pitt dominated much of the game, the Panthers were unable to score again. 

“We had a great start to the game and put some pressure on them early,” head coach Greg Miller said. “We hit the crossbar, then were able to get a goal off a corner kick and had a lot of momentum. Then, we seemed to withdraw a little bit.”

Player to watch

Rockets tri-captain MacLeod has been the heart and soul of the Toledo squad this season. The senior has scored three times this season and continues to race up the Toledo record books. She is tied for fourth in career assists (14), sixth in points (56) and shots (149) and seventh in goals (21).