Pitt Men's Soccer Falls to Vermont in Elite Eight

Pitt Panthers men's soccer fell to Vermont in the Elite Eight.

Dominic Campbell | Dec 7, 2024

Pitt Men's Soccer midfielder Arnau Vilatmijana dribbles in the 2-0 loss to Vermont in the Elite Eight at Ambrose Urbanic Field / Courtesy of Pitt Athletic

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers men's soccer faced a tough side in Vermont in the Elite Eight, but would lose 2-0, ending their season.

They made the Elite Eight after defeating Cornell in the Second Round and the Kansas City Roos in the Round of 16. It was the fourth time in the past five seasons that Pitt made it this far in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt got junior defender Jackson Gilman back in the lineup vs. Vermont, after he received a red card vs. Cornell in the Second Round. He would start at right-back, as junior defender Casper Svendby, who normall plays at right-back, would come off the bench later as a forward.

The Panthers had two good chances to start the game, as seniors in Casper Grening and defender Mateo Maillefaud took shots, but they didn't result in an opening goal.

Vermont saw their best chance of the first half come in the 13th minute. First-year forward Ryan Zellefrow found junior forward David Ismail for a cross, but he hit it right at Pitt goalkeeper Cabral Carter who made the save.

The Panthers had seven shots to the Catamounts' three, but both teams went into halftime scoreless.

Pitt freshman defender Niklas Soerensen took a throw in and gave it to Gilman, but he completely missed on the backpass to Carter.

This allowed Vermont junior forward Maximillian Kissel to get onto it and slide it past Carter for the opening goal in the 51st minute.

KISSEL TAKES ADVANTAGE OF PITT MISCUE!

1-0 Vermont in the 51st minute.
Watch live on @ESPNPlus at https://t.co/4Gev7fOCvh #LetsRally | @NCAASoccer pic.twitter.com/QyJ7MikpLP
— UVM Men's Soccer (@UVMmsoccer) December 7, 2024

Pitt then started their comeback attempt and would give everything they had to get the equalizer.

Svendby saw his shot blocked in the 55th minute and then graduate student midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana saw his header saved in the 58th minute, as Catamounts first-year goalkeeper Niklas Herceg dove down to make the stop.

Herceg made save at his near post from a shot by Panthers senior midfielder Guilherme Feitosa in the 67th minute. Vilmatijana then took two shots right in front of the goal, but a team block stopped the first attempt and his second went over the goal in the 71st minute.

Pitt had some great movement in the 75th minute, with Svendby finding Grening in the box and then Grening got it to senior forward Luis Sahmkow, but his shot was stopped immediately by Herceg.

The Panthers failed to make any better chances to rest of the way, as the Catamounts stayed strong defensively.

Vermont would get one more goal, as Carter let his first touch go too far ahead of him and redshirt forward Yaniv Bazini took advantage of it and the ricochet off him made it all the way for a goal with 10 seconds remaining, winning them the match, 2-0.

IN THE FINAL SECONDS, THE CATAMOUNTS SEAL THE VICTORY!#NCAASoccer x 🎥 ESPN+ / @UVMmsoccer pic.twitter.com/cmCusEGbiU
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) December 7, 2024