Virginia wins, crushes Pitt men’s soccer’s ACC title hopes

After securing the program’s first ACC outright regular season championship, No. 9 Pitt men’s soccer suffered a 2-0 defeat to Virginia just 16 days after their last meeting at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Virginia looked for revenge after losing 4-1 last time out and got it.

The first half provided little action as possession was shared evenly. The Panthers shut out the Cavaliers who failed to provide a shot in the first half.

The second 45 threatened to follow a similar uneventful script but was interrupted by a quick Cavalier corner. Junior midfielder Umberto Pelà headed home his effort to break the deadlock leaving the Panthers stunned. Twenty-five seconds later, the Cavaliers doubled down, delivering a swift one-two knockout to Pitt’s hopes.

Pitt grabbed just one shot on goal in the 90 minutes. It lacked the cohesion it had throughout the regular season, making the high-powered Pitt attack end the game scoreless.

“We weren’t on the same page … obviously they were deep … but bottom line was we weren’t sharp,” Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said. “Maybe it was too easy the first game.” 

The Panthers started the game promisingly, providing senior forward Luis Sahmkow with an opportunity only four minutes in. Pitt worked the ball well down the right-hand side before the ball was slipped into Sahmkow’s path. But the shot was parried away by the Virginia keeper.

The rest of the half provided little promise for Pitt, taking just three shots in the first period. Its work between junior defender Casper Svendby and first-year forward Lasse Dahl showed the most promise for the Panthers but bared no fruit.

Pitt had to wait for their next big chance – 67 minutes into the game. Sahmkow received the ball in a tight area on the edge of the box before threading the needle through the defense. Sophomore forward Albert Thorsen raced onto the ball but was stretching when taking the shot, finding the side netting from close range.

Virginia then broke to the other end of the field, looking to make Pitt rue its missed chance and winning a corner in minute 68. The corner was pulled back to fifth-year midfielder Daniel Mangarov who fired the ball into the box towards Pelà. The Milanese midfielder redirected the ball into the Pitt net, opening the scoring.

After waiting three-quarters of the game for a goal, fans of the Cavaliers only had to wait 25 seconds for them to rub salt in the wounds. Straight from the kickoff first-year defender Niklas Soerensen lost his footing, gifting the ball to sophomore forward AJ Smith. Picking up the ball, Smith left the defense for dead before sliding the ball beyond junior goalkeeper Cabral Carter.

“I didn’t want to believe that, but for sure it meant we had to get three goals to win … the timing of it certainly put a knife in our back,” Vidovich said.

This second goal put the last nail in the coffin for Pitt, as it had just 20 minutes to grab two goals. But the Panthers refused to give up, pushing Virginia back to attempt to level the game. The Cavaliers repelled countless Panthers’ possessions with their keeper untested.

Pitt left its last surge until the 81st minute, putting the ball into the net as Thorsen swung the ball across the face of the goal. Sahmkow bundled the ball home off a helpless Cavalier keeper. The excitement from the Pitt fans was short-lived though, as the goal was immediately chalked off for a tight offside.

The loss a disappointing end to ACC action for the Panthers. Pitt will most likely return to action next in the NCAA College Cup. The bracket will be released after conference tournament play concludes, determining whether the Panthers will have a final homecoming game to end their home season.