Men’s Soccer: Pitt still winless as it enters match against UNC

Pitt’s men’s soccer team will host North Carolina in a crucial Atlantic Coast Conference battle Saturday at 7 p.m. The Panthers, despite poor performance in the ACC thus far, still have a mathematical chance to make the ACC Tournament.

In order to make the tournament, the Panthers must defeat their next three ACC opponents: UNC, Duke and Notre Dame.

Further compounding that improbability, the team has to hope that Virginia Tech will not pick up another conference victory and that NC State, Duke and Syracuse all avoid earning more than five points.

Pitt (0-8-3, 0-7-2 ACC) has had an extremely disappointing season, as the team has yet to pick up a victory. The team earned a pair of ACC draws against Virginia Tech and Syracuse but has dropped its other seven matches.

In fact, Pitt has been outscored 14-1 in conference play, numbers comparable to those the team put up in the Big East last year, when the Panthers went 0-8.

The only glaring difference between this year’s Pitt squad and last year’s is that the Panthers have scored only four goals this year, compared to 21 last season. The Panthers have not scored in four consecutive matches and have scored just one goal in their last eight matches.

North Carolina (5-3-5, 2-1-5 ACC) currently occupies the fifth spot in the ACC. This season, UNC has struggled both in conference and outside of the ACC.

The Tar Heels have dropped a pair of non-conference games to William and Mary and to UNC Wilmington this season. In conference play, UNC has defeated Boston College and Syracuse, while drawing against Duke, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame and Wake Forest.

The Tar Heels have just two ACC games remaining following Saturday’s match against Pitt (Virginia and NC State), and just three matches overall. This season, North Carolina is outscoring opponents 7-6 in ACC play.

Pitt has scored only four goals all season. In contrast, the Tar Heels have allowed just nine goals, led by goalie Brendan Moore.

This season, Moore has compiled an aggregate goals-against average of .61, while posting a save percentage of .830, placing Moore near the top of the ACC goaltending statistics.

Pitt has four games remaining this season, three of which are at home. The lone road game remaining for the Panthers is a match against Notre Dame on Nov. 8.