# 2023 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team

The 2023 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented the University of Pittsburgh during the 2023 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his eighth season. They played their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 70th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 11th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Panthers finished the season 6–7–4 overall and 2–3–3 in ACC play to finish in fifth place in the Coastal Division. As the eighth overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they were defeated by ninth seed Louisville in the First Round in overtime. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were an unseeded team. They lost in the First Round to James Madison to end their season.

## Background

The Panthers finished the season 12–5–5 overall and 3–2–3 in ACC play to finish in third place in the Coastal Division. As the sixth overall seed in the ACC Tournament, they defeated eleventh seed NC State in the first round before losing to third seed Virginia in the Quarterfinals. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament and were an unseeded team. They defeated Cleveland State in the First Round, Akron in the Second Round, first overall seed Kentucky in the Third Round, and Portland in the Quarterfinals to make the College Cup. There they lost to Indiana to end their season.

## Player movement
### Players leaving

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Joe van der Sar | 1 | GK | 6'1" | 180 | Senior | Noordwijk, Netherlands | Graduated |
| Leonardo Andrade | 3 | MF | 6'2" | 170 | Freshman | São Paulo, Brazil | Signed with Brave SC |
| Mohammad Abualnadi | 4 | DF | 6'1" | 175 | Senior | Leawood, Kansas | Graduated |
| Yanis Leerman | 5 | DF | 6'2" | 175 | Graduate Student | Troyes, France | Graduated |
| Lucas Rosa | 6 | DF | 5'8" | 163 | Graduate Student | São Paulo, Brazil | Graduated |
| Valentin Noël | 8 | MF | 5'10" | 150 | Senior | Niort, France | Graduated; drafted 20th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Bertin Jacquesson | 10 | FW | 6'0" | 160 | Junior | Lorrez-le-Bocage-Préaux, France | Drafted 16th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Rodrigo Almeida | 11 | MF | 5'10" | 163 | Graduate Student | Salvador, Brazil | Graduated |
| Ideal Shefqeti | 15 | MF | 6'0" | 178 | Graduate Student | Lignano Sabbiadoro, Italy | Graduated |
| Henrique Gallina | 16 | DF | 6'1" | 180 | Graduate Student | São Paulo, Brazil | Graduated |
| Josh Luchini | 19 | FW | 6'0" | 165 | Graduate Student | Wexford, Pennsylvania | Graduated |
| Djavid Abdullatif | 23 | FW | 6'2" | 185 | Freshman | Itzehoe, Germany | Transferred to Coastal Carolina |
| Jackson Walti | 24 | MF | 5'10" | 169 | Graduate Student | St. Augustine, Florida | Graduated; drafted 56th overall in 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| Kilian Vallant | 31 | GK | 6'1" | 176 | Freshman | Salzburg, Austria | Transferred to Coastal Carolina |
| Andrew Noel | 32 | GK | 6'5" | 197 | Freshman | Montclair, New Jersey | Transferred to Rutgers |

### Players arriving
#### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Felipe Mercado | 8 | MF | 5'11" | Senior | Medellin, Colombia | College of Charleston |
| Joao Souza | 11 | MF | 5'7" | Graduate Student | Cuiabá, Brazil | Marshall |
| Nick Blacklock | 16 | MF | 5'11" | Graduate Student | Hellertown, Pennsylvania | Virginia Tech |
| Luka Kozomara | 19 | MF | 6'3" | Junior | Cliffside Park, New Jersey | Temple |

#### Recruiting Class

| Name | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating |
| Ameer Abdullah DF | Chicago, Illinois | Chicago Fire Academy | |
| Kyle Durham GK | Brooklyn, New York | Met Oval Academy | N/A |
| Zahir Dyke FW | Kansas City, Missouri | Sporting Kansas City Academy | N/A |
| Santiago Ferreira MF | Cali, Colombia | FC Dallas Academy | |
| Alex Hauskrecht FW | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Pittsburgh Riverhounds Academy | N/A |
| Jackson Moxom GK | Milwaukee, Wisconsin | FC Cincinnati Academy | N/A |
| Eli Mumford GK | Chapel Hill, North Carolina | Richmond Kickers | |
| Massimo Murania FW | Queens, New York | NYCFC Academy | N/A |
| Albert Thorsen FW | Drammen, Norway | Strømsgodset Toppfotball | N/A |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of January 31, 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 | Cabral Carter |
| 1 | GK | USA | Kyle Durham |
| 2 | DF | USA | Jackson Gilman |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Raphael Cilli |
| 5 | DF | GER | Fabian Grau |
| 7 | FW | FRA | Abdoulaye Toure |
| 8 | MF | COL | Felipe Mercado |
| 9 | FW | NOR | Albert Thorsen |
| 10 | MF | BRA | Guilherme Feitosa |
| 11 | MF | BRA | Joao Souza |
| 12 | DF | FRA | Mateo Maillefaud |
| 13 | DF | USA | Noah Hall |
| 15 | FW | USA | Zahir Dyke |
| 16 | MF | USA | Nick Blacklock |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | FW | USA | Luis Sahmkow |
| 18 | DF | USA | Ameer Abdullah |
| 19 | MF | USA | Luka Kozomara |
| 20 | MF | USA | Mateo Stoka |
| 21 | MF | SRB | Filip Mirkovic |
| 22 | MF | FRA | Mathys Lefebvre |
| 23 | FW | USA | Massimo Murania |
| 24 | DF | USA | Abraham Brown |
| 25 | FW | USA | Eben McIntyre |
| 26 | MF | USA | Michael Sullivan |
| 27 | FW | USA | Alex Hauskrecht |
| 28 | MF | USA | Santiago Ferreira |
| 31 | GK | USA | Eli Mumford |
| 32 | GK | USA | Jack Moxom |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | Heather Lyke |
| Head coach | Jay Vidovich |
| Assistant coach | Bryce Cregan |
| Assistant coach | Josh Oldroyd |
| Assistant coach | Zack Schilawski |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Exhibition ||||||
| August 12* | No. 5 | Cleveland State | Not Reported | — | Krenzler Field Cleveland, OH |
| August 18* | No. 5 | Michigan State | Not Reported | — | Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA |
| Regular season ||||||
| August 24* 7:00 p.m. | No. 5 | Penn State | T 1–1 | 0–0–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (2,000) Pittsburgh, PA |
| August 28* :00 p.m. | No. 5 | Howard | W 5–0 | 1–0–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (734) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 1* 4:00 p.m. | No. 8 | at Georgetown | L 1–4 | 1–1–1 | Shaw Field (977) Washington, D.C. |
| September 2* 5:00 p.m. | | No. 2 Marshall | L 1–3 | 1–2–1 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,081) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 9 7:00 p.m. | | No. 9 Wake Forest | W 3–0 | 2–2–1 (1–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (714) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 15 6:00 p.m. | No. 17 | at Boston College | T 0–0 | 2–2–2 (1–0–1) | Newton Campus Soccer Field (636) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| September 18* 7:00 p.m. | No. 17 | Fairleigh Dickinson | W 5–1 | 3–2–2 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (419) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 22 7:00 p.m. | | at No. 7 Syracuse | L 3–2 | 3–3–2 (1–1–1) | SU Soccer Stadium (1,911) Syracuse, NY |
| September 25* 7:00 p.m. | | No. 19 Denver | W 3–1 | 4–3–2 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (703) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 29 7:00 p.m. | | No. 18 North Carolina | T 0–0 | 4–3–3 (1–1–2) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,010) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 6 7:00 p.m. | No. 20 | Virginia Tech | W 3–1 | 5–3–3 (2–1–2) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (913) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 13 7:00 p.m. | No. ww | at Virginia | L 1–2 | 5–4–3 (2–2–2) | Klöckner Stadium (2,551) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 17* 7:00 p.m. | No. 23 | Duquesne | W 2–0 | 6–4–3 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (975) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 21 7:00 p.m. | No. 23 | No. 9 Duke | T 0–0 | 6–4–4 (2–2–3) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,180) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 27 7:00 p.m. | No. 20 | at No. 5 Notre Dame | L 0–6 | 6–5–4 (2–3–3) | Alumni Stadium (2,224) Notre Dame, IN |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 1 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (8) | (9) Louisville First Round | L 1–2 $^{2OT}$ | 6–6–4 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (717) Pittsburgh, PA |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 16 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | James Madison First Round | L 2–3 | 6–7–4 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (764) Pittsburgh, PA |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Filip Mirkovic | Pre-Season Hermann Trophy Watchlist | August 24 |
| Filip Mirkovic | Pre-Season All-ACC Team | August 26 |
| Filip Mirkovic | All-ACC First Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Jackson Gilman | All-ACC Third Team | November 8, 2023 |
| Albert Thorsen | All-ACC Freshman Team | November 8, 2023 |

## 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 |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | Final |
| United Soccer | 5 | 8 | RV | 17 | RV | RV | 20 | 11 | 23 | 20 | — | — | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | — |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 7 | 8 | 11 | 8 | 16 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 10 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — |

## 2024 MLS Super draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Filip Mirkovic | Orlando City | 2 | 54 | MF |
Source: