Preview: Pitt Men's Soccer Battles Vermont in Quarterfinals

Pitt men's soccer battles Vermont in the Quarterfinals at home.

Pitt Men's Soccer in a huddle before kickoff / Courtesy of Pitt Athletic

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers men's soccer will battle Vermont at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament, as they look for a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Pitt Men's Soccer 2024 Season Overview

Pitt won the ACC Regular Season Title for the first time in program history, as they finished 6-2 in conference play, with their only losses to Cal at home on Oct. 11 and Syracuse on the road on Nov. 1. That Cal lost came at a time that sickness spread rapidly through the Pitt squad.

They had three ranked wins in the ACC, all coming on the road. This includes a 3-1 victory, over No. 22 SMU on Sept. 7 in their ACC opener, 2-0 over No. 17 Virginia Tech on Sept. 28 and 2-1 vs. No. 7 North Carolina on Oct. 19, featuring two goals from graduate student midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana, including the winner in the 88th minute.

Pitt had home wins of 3-2 vs. Louisville on Sept. 13, 2-0 over Boston College on Sept. 20 and 4-1 over Virginia on Oct. 25.

The Panthers finished the regular season 12-4 overall, which is a big improvement over their 6-5-4 (W-L-D) finish in the 2023 regular season. They also held the No. 1 ranking for three weeks, the first time doing so since 2020.

Pitt's other defeats came to Penn on the road on Sept. 1 and High Point at home on Oct. 14 for their other two regular season losses.

They earned a First Round bye in the ACC Tournament, but played poorly vs. No. 9 Virginia, losing 2-0 in the Quarterfinals on Nov. 10.

Pitt earned a No. 2 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, which will allow them to host through to the Final Four.

They earned a First Round bye and then hosted Cornell in the Round of 32 on Nov. 24, who gave them a great challenge.

Pitt went down to 10 men, as junior defender Jackson Gilman picked up a red card in the 40th minute, just the second of his career.

The Panthers managed to take the lead, as a hand ball on the Big Red led to a penalty, and graduate student midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana stepped up and slotted it home.

Pitt would hold off attempts from Cornell the rest of the way, winning 1-0 and making it to the Round of 16.

They hosted the Kansas City Roos in the next matchup on Dec. 1 and fell behind five minutes in, but responded in the 15th minute, as senior midfielder Casper Grening leveled things up.

Vilamitjana then gave the Panthers the lead in the 70th minute, but the Roos responed off a corner in the 74th minute, forcing the match into extra time.

Pitt would win the match on a golden goal in the 98th minute, as Vilamitjana found sophomore forward Albert Thorsen for a through ball and Thorsen slotted it past the goalkeeper, earning a spot in the Elite Eight (Quarterfinals).

Vermont Preview

Vermont only had one win in their first four matches, but have won 13 of their past 17 matches, which includes 11 straight wins.

They come into this matchup 14-2-5 (W-L-D) and were 4-1-2 in the America East. They would defeat UMBC 2-1 in double overtime in the America East Semifinals and then earned a 2-1 win vs. Bryant to win the America East Title.

Vermont demolished Iona 5-0 at home in the First Round and then upset No. 7 Hofstra, 2-1, in the Second Round on the road.

They stayed on the road for their Sweet 16 matchup against San Diego, and after a scoreless 90 minutes, they would get a penalty kick just 30 seconds into extra time and won on golden goal.

Vermont has a number of talented players, including sophomore Sydney Wathuta and graduate student Zach Barrett, who earned America East Midfielder of the Year and America East Defender of the Year honors, respectively.

Wathuta has created 14 assists on the season in 20 games played, while Barrett helped the Catamounts allow just five goals in conference play.

Redshirt senior forward Yaniv Bazini, who scored the winning penalty against San Diego, has scored 12 goals and earned All-America East First Team honors

The Catamounts have a number of other forwards who have helped them score about two goals per game on average.

Junior Maximilliam Kissel has also had a good season for the Catamounts, with nine goals and two assists. Graduate student Max Murray has scored four goals and made four assists, junior David Ismail has three goals and three assists, including the winner vs. Hofstra, and graduate student Marcel Papp has scored four goals as well.

Vermont is in their second Elite Eight in the past three seasons, as they would lose 2-1 to Syracuse on the road in 2022.

They're looking to make their first College Cup, but Pitt is also eyeing their third trip to the College Cup and a first National Title.

How to Watch: Pitt Men's Soccer vs. Vermont

Pitt and Vermont kickoff at 3:00 p.m. on Dec. 7 at Ambrose Urbanic Field. ESPN+ will broadcast all four matches in the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals.

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Panthers for the latest news, exclusive interviews, recruiting coverage, and more!

• Pitt Volleyball Sweeps Morehead State in NCAA Tournament
• Pitt Kicker Accepts East-West Shrine Bowl Invite
• Pitt QB Nate Yarnell Enters Transfer Portal
• Pitt DL Elliot Donald Enters Transfer Portal
• Pitt Volleyball HC Rumored For USA Job

Follow Inside the Panthers on Twitter: @InsidePitt