Pitt women’s soccer faces uncertain future in postseason after dreary stint in conference play

Pitt women’s soccer (9-6-3, 3-5-2 ACC) concluded conference play with a 3-2 loss against No. 13 Notre Dame last Thursday. The loss extended its losing streak to three, and Pitt finished the regular season at No. 11 in the ACC while unranked nationally. As a result, the Panthers will not advance to the ACC Championships.

Pitt’s losses this season took a similar form each time. The Panthers start strong on the attack, maintaining possession for most of the match and outshooting their opponents nearly every time. Every loss, though, has come at the other team’s ability to capitalize on early opportunities. 

Pitt started the season with an even spread — a tie against Georgia, a win against Duquesne and a tough loss to Buffalo. Even though the Buffalo goalkeeper’s lights-out performance contributed to the loss, Pitt’s inability to find the back of the net in the first half is what put the Panthers behind. The Bulls scored in the second half which granted them the win, despite Pitt outshooting them 28-10. 

This was the start of a very frustrating trend, but with the team’s two key offensive players gone to the NWSL, associate head coach Randy Waldrum knew their offense would look different this year. 

“We may have to find a different way we’re going to attack,” associate head coach Ben Waldrum said. “We always thought we were going to look different this year … We’re going to have to find different ways to generate offense.”

As ACC play was getting closer, the Panthers found a way to get something similar to what former players Amanda West and Landy Mertz gave them last season. Pitt won six straight going into ACC play, including its conference home opener against Louisville. 

Using first-year forward Lola Abraham was one of the ways Pitt accounted for the offensive change, as well as putting forward Sarah Schupansky in the front line. The senior did a lot for Pitt’s offense there and broke the record for the most career assists at Pitt with 43 and assists in a regular season with 15. 

Despite the changes in the Panthers’ attack, nothing came close enough to the 2023 season. Pitt lost to No. 8 UNC 1-0 despite outshooting the Tar Heels 9-15. The Panthers followed the matchup with another 1-0 loss to Cal, who Pitt outshot 11-3. Both matches could have marked a tick in the win column and made Pitt a contender for the ACC Championships. 

Things were looking up halfway through ACC play as the frustration took a hiatus in the games against Clemson and Syracuse. The Panthers won back-to-back conference home games, both of which had goals in the first half.

However, as the conference play neared the end, the Panthers fell back into old habits and couldn’t show out in their first half performances. After a 0-0 tie against Miami and a devastating 7-1 loss against No. 22 Florida State, the Panthers came back looking for a win in their regular season home finale. Unfortunately, Pitt followed suit and lost to No. 2 Wake Forest 2-0 while outshooting the Demon Deacons 14-11.

Finally, in the last match of the regular season, Pitt once again outshot No. 13 Notre Dame 12-11 yet couldn’t manage to find the equalizer in the shot advantage and lost 3-2.

Even though the Panthers didn’t end their regular season as strong as they’d hoped, they are still ranked in the top 35 of NCAA RPI with six matches against nationally ranked opponents.

This makes Pitt a strong contender for the NCAA Selection Show on Monday, Nov. 11 which determines the fate of Pitt’s postseason play.