Inside The Panthers

Pitt Women's Soccer Representing Nigeria for Paris Olympics

Pitt women's soccer head coach Randy Waldrum will lead Nigeria at the Paris Olympics and bring a Pitt player with him.

Dominic Campbell

Jun 10, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum acknowledges the fans during halftime during a WNT Summer Series international friendly soccer match against Jamaica at BBVA Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 10, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Nigeria head coach Randy Waldrum acknowledges the fans during halftime during a WNT Summer Series international friendly soccer match against Jamaica at BBVA Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports / Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH -- The Pitt Panthers will represent Nigeria women's soccer, as they prepare for the Olympics in Paris this summer.

Pitt women's soccer head coach Randy Waldrum is also the head coach of Nigeria and announced his squad for the Olympics, which start at the end of July. Among the 22-squad members is midfielder Deborah Abiodun, who is entering her sophomore season at Pitt.

Abiodun joined Pitt ahead of the 2023 season as a freshman and had a stellar campaign. She started 19 of 22 games, scoring six goals and adding three assists, helping Pitt to make the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.

She scored two goals in the 6-1 win over Duquesne in the City Game on Aug. 31, a game tying goal against then ranked No. 10 Notre Dame on Sept. 24 and assists in wins over Boston College on Sept. 30 and Wake Forest on Oct. 8.

She also scored twice in the NCAA Tournament, with a goal in a 6-0 drubbing of Ohio State in the First Round and then another goal against Memphis in a 3-0 victory in the Sweet 16 to make it to the Elite Eight.

Waldrum is also heading into his second stint with Nigeria, as he took over in 2020 and served until his contract ended in 2023. He re-signed for the positon in February.

He led Nigeria into the 2023 World Cup in Australia & New Zealand with Abiodun a part of the squad before she played for Pitt.

Abiodun started the first game against 2020 Olympics Champions Canada, but picked up a late yellow card for a foul on Canada's Ashley Lawrence. The video assistant referee (VAR) showed the head referee the replay of the foul, which saw Abiodun come in late on the challenge and stomp on Lawrence's lower left leg.

The referee then gave Abidoun a red card and sent her off from the field, putting Nigeria down to 10 men. She received a three-match ban for the foul, normal for violent conduct, and would miss the rest of the World Cup for Nigeria.

Nigeria did have a good performance at the World Cup, defeating Australia 3-2 in the second game and using a scoreless draw against the Republic of Ireland in the final group stage match to take second place and make it to the knockout stages.

They took on eventual runner-ups England, who they held scoreless through 90 minutes and then two 15 minute periods of extra-time, before falling 4-2 on penalties.

Nigeria will make their first appearance at the Olympics since 2008 in Beijing. They faced rival South Africa over two legs to qualify for the Olympics, defeating them 1-0 at home on April 5 and then settling for a scoreless draw on April 9 to win 1-0 on aggregate.

They will serve as one of 12 women's teams at the Paris Olympics, which will feature first team squad members, unlike the men's teams who are U-23 players.

Nigeria faces Brazil on Thursday, July 25, World Cup winners Spain on Sunday, July 28 and then Japan on Wednesday, July 31.

They won't play any of these games in Paris, with the Brazil game at Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux and both the Spain and Japan matches at Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes.

The top two teams in the three groups of four, plus the top two third-placed teams will qualify for the Quarterfinals. The Quarterfinals take place on Saturday, Aug. 3, the Semifinals on Tuesday, Aug. 6, with the losers playing in the Broze medal match on Friday, Aug. 9 and the winners playing in the Gold medal match on Saturday, Aug. 10.

The Pitt women's soccer season doesn't have their first match until Thursday, Aug. 15 on the road against Georgia. If Nigeria make it all the way to the Gold medal match, Waldrum and Abiodun will still have time to come back for the Georgia match.

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Dominic Campbell

DOMINIC CAMPBELL

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