# 2024 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team

The 2024 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2024 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Randy Waldrum, in his seventh season. They played their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 29th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 12th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Panthers started the season ranked seventh overall, and faced off against fourteenth ranked Georgia. The match ended in a 0–0 draw. Pittsburgh won its next match before being upset by unranked Buffalo. Despite another win, the Panthers fell out of the rankings with the next release. They won their remaining four non-conference games to finish 6–1–1. Georgia was the only Power 4 opponent they faced in non-conference play. They began ACC play with a win over Louisville before losing 0–1 to both eighth ranked North Carolina and California. They followed those results with a tie against Stanford before defeating Clemson and Syracuse. They tied Miami before facing three ranked teams in their final three games. The Panthers would go on to lose all of those matches, with the closest being 2–3 in the final game of the season against thirteenth ranked Notre Dame.
The Panthers finished the season 9–6–3 overall and 3–5–2 in ACC play to finish in eleventh place. The team did not qualify for the ACC Tournament and were not invited to the NCAA Tournament. This season broke a streak of two consecutive qualifications for both of those tournaments. Their nine total wins were the lowest since 2019. Their three conference wins were the lowest since a pandemic shortented 2020 season.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the season 17–6–1 overall and 6–3–1 in ACC play to finish in fifth place. As the fifth seed in the ACC Tournament they upset nationally third ranked North Carolina in overtime in the Quarterfinals. They could not advance further than the semifinals as they were defeated by Florida State. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. As the seventh-seed in the Florida State Bracket, they defeated Ohio State 6–0 in the First Round and, second-seed Arkansas in the Second Round and sixth seed Memphis in the Round of 16. The victory against Memphis set up a third matchup with Florida State this season. The score in this matchup was the most lopsided of the three matches and the Panthers lost 3–0 to end their season.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Lainie Fuchs | 3 | DF | 5'7" | Freshman | Vienna, Austria | Returned to Austria to play professionally |
| Landy Mertz | 6 | MF | 5'4" | Senior | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Graduated; drafted 52nd overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft |
| Fleming Dean | 7 | MF | 5'5" | Sophomore | Marietta, Georgia | Transferred to Stanford |
| Amanda West | 9 | FW | 5'6" | Graduate Student | Sundsvall, Sweden | Graduated; drafted 36th overall in the 2024 NWSL Draft |
| Anna Bout | 12 | MF | 5'5" | Graduate Student | Cambridge, Canada | Graduated |
| Evie Craven | 14 | FW | 5'6" | Freshman | Stockport, England | Transferred to Charlotte |
| Delaney Evers | 22 | FW | 5'7" | Freshman | Oakdale, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Charleston Southern |
| Emily Edwards | 25 | GK | 5'9" | Freshman | Holly Springs, North Carolina | Transferred to Purdue |
| Kaley Simqu | 28 | DF | 5'3" | Freshman | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Bowling Green |
| Ashton Gordon | 32 | DF | 5'11" | Graduate Student | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Graduated |

### Incoming transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Abby Reisz | 1 | GK | 5'9" | Sophomore | Upper Arlington, Ohio | Tennessee |
| Magali Gagne | 3 | MF | 5'6" | Junior | Montreal, Canada | Kansas |
| Grace Pettet | 19 | DF | 5'8" | Graduate Student | Tulsa, Oklahoma | Missouri |
| Bailey Wagenknecht | 22 | FW | 5'6" | Sophomore | Peachtree City, Georgia | Mississippi State |
| Ava Boyd | 26 | FW | 5'7" | Sophomore | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Michigan State |
Source:

### Recruiting class

| Name | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating |
| Lola Abraham FW | Oakmont, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | |
| Chloe Brecht FW | Powell, Ohio | Ohio Premier | |
| Coco Dorfman DF | San Diego, California | San Diego Surf | |
| Emily Graeca DF | Dubois, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh Hotspurs | N/A |
| Bella Haynes DF | Canton, Michigan | Michigan Hawks | |
| Rylee Keeley FW | Wake Forest, North Carolina | North Carolina Courage (ECNL) | |
| Erika Schneider DF | Aldie, Virginia | TSJ FC Virginia | |
| Dakota Watterson MF | Clovis, California | Clovis Crossfire SC | |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of December 30, 2024
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 0 | GK | USA | Ellie Breech |
| 1 | GK | USA | Abigail Reisz |
| 2 | DF | USA | Haylee Mersereau |
| 3 | MF | CAN | Magali Gagne |
| 4 | MF | USA | Ellie Coffield |
| 5 | FW | USA | Sarah Schupansky |
| 6 | MF | USA | Briana Rodriguez |
| 7 | FW | CAN | Sofia Doheny |
| 8 | MF | NGA | Deborah Abiodun |
| 9 | FW | USA | Lucia Wells |
| 10 | MF | CAN | Keera Melenhorst |
| 11 | DF | USA | Mackenzie Evers |
| 12 | DF | USA | Sage Stelzer |
| 13 | DF | USA | Ashley Moon |
| 14 | DF | USA | Olivia Lee |
| 15 | MF | CAN | Chloe Minas |
| 16 | FW | USA | Margaret Wilde |
| 17 | FW | USA | Aliya Gomes |
| 18 | FW | USA | Paige Dzeidzic |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 19 | DF | USA | Grace Pettet |
| 20 | MF | NGA | Celine Ottah |
| 21 | DF | USA | Katie Zailski |
| 22 | FW | USA | Bailey Wagenknecht |
| 23 | FW | USA | Samiah Phiri |
| 24 | MF | USA | Emma Rhoades |
| 25 | DF | USA | Coco Dorfman |
| 26 | FW | USA | Ava Boyd |
| 27 | FW | USA | Dakota Watterson |
| 28 | FW | USA | Chloe Brecht |
| 29 | MF | USA | Olivia Duray |
| 30 | FW | USA | Kaitlyn Killinger |
| 31 | FW | USA | Emily Cooper |
| 32 | DF | USA | Erika Schneider |
| 33 | GK | USA | Emma Van Meter |
| 34 | MF | USA | Rylee Keely |
| 35 | DF | USA | Emily Graeca |
| 86 | FW | USA | Lola Abraham |
| — | DF | USA | Bella Haynes |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Head Coach | Randy Waldrum |
| Associate Head Coach | Ben Waldrum |
| Assistant Coach | Jesse Goleman |
| Assistant Coach | Ashton Gordon |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 4* 7:30 p.m. | No. 7 | at West Virginia | None Reported | — | Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium Morgantown, WV |
| August 10* 5:00 p.m. | No. 7 | Michigan | None Reported | — | Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| August 15* 6:30 p.m., SECN+ | No. 7 | at No. 14 Georgia | T 0–0 | 0–0–1 | Turner Soccer Complex (1,793) Athens, GA |
| August 18* 3:00 p.m. | No. 7 | vs. Duquesne | W 2–1 | 1–0–1 | Highmark Stadium (1,250) Pittsburgh, PA |
| August 22* 5:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 7 | Buffalo | L 1–2 | 1–1–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (528) Pittsburgh, PA |
| August 25* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | No. 7 | at Bucknell | W 5–1 | 2–1–1 | Emmitt Field (825) Lewisburg, PA |
| August 29* 4:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Loyola Marymount | W 3–0 | 3–1–1 | Sullivan Field (136) Los Angeles, CA |
| September 1* 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cal State Fullerton | W 2–0 | 4–1–1 | Titan Stadium (336) Fullerton, CA |
| September 5* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Dartmouth | W 6–1 | 5–1–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (480) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 8* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Mercyhurst | W 7–0 | 6–1–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (780) Pittsburgh, PA |
| ACC Regular season ||||||
| September 14 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Louisville | W 3–1 | 7–1–1 (1–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (888) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 19 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 8 North Carolina | L 0–1 | 7–2–1 (1–1–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,490) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 26 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at California | L 0–1 | 7–3–1 (1–2–0) | Edwards Stadium (212) Berkeley, CA |
| September 29 4:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 6 Stanford | T 1–1 | 7–3–2 (1–2–1) | Cagan Stadium (1,835) Stanford, CA |
| October 3 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Clemson | W 4–1 | 8–3–2 (2–2–1) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (596) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 13 1:30 p.m., ACCN | | Syracuse | W 3–0 | 9–3–2 (3–2–1) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (824) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 17 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Miami | T 0–0 | 9–3–3 (3–2–2) | Cobb Stadium (712) Coral Gables, FL |
| October 20 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 22 Florida State | L 1–7 | 9–4–3 (3–3–2) | Seminole Soccer Complex (854) Tallahassee, FL |
| October 24 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | No. 2 Wake Forest | L 0–2 | 9–5–3 (3–4–2) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (759) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 31 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 13 Notre Dame | L 2–3 | 9–6–3 (3–5–2) | Alumni Stadium (277) Notre Dame, IN |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Deborah Abiodun | Pre-season All-ACC Team | August 8, 2024 |
| Sarah Schupansky | Pre-season All-ACC Team | August 8, 2024 |
| Deborah Abiodun | All-ACC Second Team | November 6, 2024 |
| Sarah Schupansky | All-ACC Second Team | November 6, 2024 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | Final |
| United Soccer | 7 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 3 | 6 | 19 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |