Pitt women’s soccer looks to continue win streak against UNC

The Panthers (7-1-1, 1-0 ACC) continue conference play this week at home against No. 10 North Carolina (8-1, 1-0 ACC). After picking up their first conference win in their ACC home opener against Louisville, the team hopes to pick up where they left off.

The Panthers look to keep the ball rolling this week, and senior forward Sarah Schupansky is especially confident that her team is willing to put in the work to extend the win streak.

“Any team can win any game,” Schupansky said. “We’re going to work our absolute hardest to do the best in this conference.”

On Thursday, Sept. 19, North Carolina and Pitt meet for the first time since the ACC tournament upset at Ambrose Urbanic Field with a 7 p.m. kickoff. 

Last time out

Pitt women’s soccer’s 2023 campaign shattered several program records. North Carolina’s team was there to witness one of the program’s historic moments in the 2023 ACC tournament. 

The last time Pitt faced UNC, the No. 20 Panthers made their second-ever appearance in the ACC tournament and faced the No. 3 Tar Heels. At the final whistle, the Panthers made history and upset the Tar Heels 2-1 in overtime to advance to the ACC semifinals. 

The tense battle went back and forth as the Panthers and the Tar Heels put a point on the board within minutes of each other. The game continued until late in the first period of overtime when graduated forward Amanda West secured the second goal for the Panthers and knocked North Carolina out of the tournament. Despite the recent win, the Tar Heels hold an all-time 7-1 edge over the Panthers. 

Scouting the Tar Heels

UNC women’s soccer started its season off in a less-than-traditional way. Just four days before the start of the 2024 season, head coach Anson Dorrance announced his immediate retirement, leaving the team without a leader. 

Damon Nahas promptly stepped up after coaching on UNC’s staff for the past nine years. It seems despite the abrupt change in the coaching staff, the team has stood their ground early in the season with their only loss so far against Duke. 

The Tar Heels fell to the Blue Devils 1-0 in early September in what counted as non-conference play. After recovering with a win against Columbia, North Carolina went into ACC play on Thursday 7-1.

North Carolina scraped their first conference win against Wake Forest 1-0. Despite the win, the Demon Deacons dominated the pitch and outscored the Tar Heels in shots 9-3 and corner kicks 3-0.

Picture of the Panthers

The Panthers ended nonconference play 6-1-1 featuring a tie against Georgia and a devastating loss against Buffalo — the first loss against the team since 1996. Since the upset, Pitt bounced back by extending its winning streak to six — the most recent win coming against ACC foe Louisville.

Pitt bested the Cardinals Saturday 3-1 featuring a lights-out performance from senior forward Samiah Phiri. The Panthers went into the locker rooms tied 1-1. Phiri cemented the win in the second half by scoring both of the remaining goals of the match.

The matchup is set to yield excitement as the Panthers look to defend against the traveling Tar Heels who look to hold their rank as a top program in the country. 

Catch this exciting matchup this Thursday at 7 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.