# 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team

The 2020 Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer team represented University of Pittsburgh during the 2020 NCAA Division I men's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Jay Vidovich, in his fifth season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 67th season playing organized men's college soccer and their 8th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The teams' 2020 season was significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which curtailed the fall season and caused the NCAA Tournament to be played in spring 2021. The ACC was one of the only two conferences in men's soccer to play in the fall of 2020, during which conference competition was organized in North and South divisions followed by a conference tournament. The ACC also held a mini-season during the spring of 2021 which was organized according to the more typical Atlantic and Coastal divisions and was followed by a one game playoff between the division champions to determine who received the automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
The Panthers finished the fall season 7–1–0 and 4–0–0 in ACC play to finish in first place in the North Region. In the ACC Tournament they defeated Duke in the Quarterfinals and Notre Dame in the Semifinals before losing to Clemson in the Final. They finished the spring season 6–1–0 and 5–1–0 in ACC play, to finish in first place in the Coastal Division. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament because they lost the automatic bid play-in game to Clemson. As the second seed in the tournament, they defeated Monmouth in the Second Round, UCF in the Third Round, and Washington in the Quarterfinals before losing to Indiana in the Semifinals to end their season.

## Previous season

The 2019 Pittsburgh men's soccer team finished the season with a 10–8–2 overall record and a 4–3–1 ACC record. Pitt were seeded fourth–overall in the 2019 ACC Men's Soccer Tournament. The Panthers won their first round match up against NC State, but fell to Clemson in the semifinals. The Panthers earned an at-large bid into the 2019 NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Tournament, making it their first berth into the NCAA Tournament since 1965. Pitt defeated Lehigh in the first round, before losing to the eventual national champions, Georgetown, in the second round.

## Preseason
### Preseason rankings
#### ACC Media Poll

The ACC men's soccer media poll was released on September 8, 2020. Pitt was picked to finish second in the ACC North Division.
Coaches' Poll :
| Predicted finish | Team | Points |
| 1 | Virginia | 59 (9) |
| 2 | Pitt | 44 (2) |
| 3 | Virginia Tech | 35 |
| 4 | Syracuse | 30 |
| 5 | Louisville | 29 |
| 6 | Notre Dame | 28 |

### Player movement
#### Players leaving

| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown | Reason for departure |
| Johan Peñaranda | 0 | GK | 5'11" | 172 | Sophomore | Long Island, NY | Transferred to FIU |
| Nyk Sessock | 2 | DF | 5'7" | 148 | Sophomore | Philadelphia, PA | Transferred to Indiana |
| Chandler Vaughn | 3 | DF | 5'9" | 142 | Sophomore | Woodbridge, VA | Transferred to St. Louis |
| Lucas Cyriacus | 6 | MF | 6'0" | 172 | Freshman | Munich, Germany | Transferred to Manhattan |
| Braden Kline | 7 | MF | 6'1" | 160 | Senior | Lancaster, PA | Graduated |
| Edward Kizza | 9 | FW | 5'9" | 170 | Junior | Kampala, Uganda | No longer with team |
| Josh Hesson | 12 | FW | 5'11" | 168 | Freshman | Wolverhampton, England | Transferred to Delaware |
| Louis Spicer | 17 | MF | 5'10" | 168 | Freshman | Cambridge, England | Transferred to Maryland |
| Tim Townsend | 18 | MF | 5'8" | 155 | Sophomore | Hummelstown, PA | |
| Alex Peperak | 21 | MF | 5'10" | 170 | Senior | Connellsville, PA | Graduated |
| Chad Stout | 25 | MF | 5'9" | 163 | Sophomore | Lewisberry, PA | |
| Tim Ekpone | 28 | DF | 6'0" | 160 | Junior | Germantown, MD | Transferred to Syracuse |
| Arie Ammann | 32 | GK | 6'0" | 180 | Junior | Round Hill, VA | |

#### Players arriving

| Name | Nat. | Hometown | Club |
| Vinicius Belon DF | BRA | Curitiba, Brazil | SIMA |
| Brandon Clagette FW | USA | Atlanta, GA | Atlanta United Academy |
| Lucas Matuszewski DF | USA | York, PA | PA Classics Academy |
| Luke Peperak FW | USA | Pittsburgh, PA | Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC |
| Dominic Reiter DF | USA | Sewickley, PA | Beadling SC |
| Soshun Shigaki MF | JPN | Tokyo, Japan | SIMA |
| Nathan Stricker MF | USA | Sinking Spring, PA | PA Classics Academy |

## Squad
### Roster

Updated October 28, 2020
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 | ESP | Nico Campuzano |
| 1 | GK | USA | Alexander Steinbach |
| 2 | DF | GER | Jasper Löeffelsend |
| 3 | DF | FRA | Raphaël Crivello |
| 4 | DF | USA | Bryce Washington |
| 5 | DF | ESP | Arturo Ordoñez |
| 6 | MF | MAR | Anass Amrani |
| 7 | MF | MEX | Luis Lara |
| 8 | MF | FRA | Valentin Noël |
| 10 | FW | FRA | Bertin Jacquesson |
| 11 | MF | BRA | Rodrigo Almeida |
| 12 | FW | USA | Brandon Clagette |
| 13 | FW | USA | Alexander Dexter |
| 14 | DF | ESP | Sito Sena |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 15 | FW | USA | Luke Mort |
| 16 | DF | USA | Lucas Matuszewski |
| 17 | MF | ENG | Louis Spicer |
| 18 | MF | JPN | Soshun Shigaki |
| 19 | MF | SRB | Veljko Petkovic |
| 20 | MF | USA | Matt Bailey |
| 21 | MF | SRB | Filip Mirkovic |
| 22 | DF | USA | Sebastian Serpa |
| 23 | DF | BRA | Vinicius Belon |
| 24 | MF | SUI | Jackson Walti |
| 25 | FW | USA | Luke Peperak |
| 26 | DF | USA | Dominic Reiter |
| 27 | DF | USA | Anthony Harding |
| 28 | MF | USA | Nathan Stricker |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Athletic Director | Heather Lyke |
| Head Coach | Jay Vidovich |
| Assistant Coach | Michael Behonick |
| Assistant Coach | Rich Costanzo |
| Volunteer Assistant Coach | Bryce Cregan |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Fall Exhibition ||||||
| September 13, 2020* 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 | at No. 1 Wake Forest | L 2–3 | – | Spry Stadium (0) Winston-Salem, NC |
| September 19, 2020* 7:00 p.m. | No. 4 | at Louisville | W 5–0 | – | Ambrose Urbanic Field (0) Pittsburgh, PA |
| Fall regular season ||||||
| September 26, 2020* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | at No. 5 Notre Dame | W 3–1 | 1–0–0 | Alumni Stadium (0) South Bend, IN |
| October 6, 2020 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | at Syracuse | W 3–2 $^{2OT}$ | 2–0–0 (1–0–0) | SU Soccer Stadium (1) Syracuse |
| October 10, 2020 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 2 | Virginia Tech | W 4–2 | 3–0–0 (2–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (55) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 18, 2020 7:30 p.m., ACCN | No. 2 | at No. 5 Virginia | W 3–2 $^{OT}$ | 4–0–0 (3–0–0) | Klöckner Stadium (132) Charlottesville, VA |
| October 23, 2020 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | at Louisville | W 4–1 | 5–0–0 (4–0–0) | Lynn Family Stadium Louisville, KY |
| October 30, 2020 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Notre Dame | Canceled | 5–0–0 (4–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 6, 2020 6:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Syracuse | Canceled | 5–0–0 (4–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| November 15, 2020 6:00 p.m., ACCN | (1N) No. 1 | vs. (4S) Duke Quarterfinals | W 2–1 | 6–0–0 | Dail Soccer Field Raleigh, NC |
| November 18, 2020 8:00 p.m., ACCN | (1N) No. 1 | vs. (3N) Notre Dame Semifinals | W 3–1 | 7–0–0 | Dail Soccer Field (100) Raleigh, NC |
| November 22, 2020 Noon, ESPNU | (1N) No. 1 | vs. (3S) No. 2 Clemson Final | L 1–2 | 7–1–0 | WakeMed Soccer Park (350) Cary, NC |
| Spring Exhibition ||||||
| February 13, 2021* 3:00 p.m. | | Georgetown | Canceled | | Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA |
| Spring regular season ||||||
| February 21, 2021* 3:00 p.m. | | Akron | Canceled | – | Ambrose Urbanic Field (–) Pittsburgh, PA |
| February 27, 2021* 7:00 p.m. | | Duquesne City Game | W 1–0 | 8–1–0 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (0) Pittsburgh, PA |
| March 5, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 4 | at North Carolina | L 0–3 | 8–2–0 (4–1–0) | Dorrance Field (315) Chapel Hill, NC |
| March 13, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 8 | Boston College | W 1–0 | 9–2–0 (5–1–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (0) Pittsburgh, PA |
| March 19, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 7 | at Duke | W 4–3 $^{2OT}$ | 10–2–0 (6–1–0) | Koskinen Stadium (0) Durham, NC |
| March 27, 2021 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 5 | at Virginia Tech | W 2–1 $^{2OT}$ | 11–2–0 (7–1–0) | Thompson Field (600) Blacksburg, VA |
| April 3, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 3 | Notre Dame | W 2–0 | 12–2–0 (8–1–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (0) Pittsburgh, PA |
| April 8, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 1 | Virginia | W 5–0 | 13–2–0 (9–1–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (0) Pittsburgh, PA |
| NCAA Automatic Bid Play-In ||||||
| April 17, 2021 7:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 1 | No. 4 Clemson | L 0–2 | 13–3–0 | Riggs Field (1,000) Clemson, SC |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| May 2, 2021 8:00 p.m. | (2) No. 3 | vs. Monmouth Second Round | W 6–1 | 14–3–0 | Bryan Park (300) Browns Summit, NC |
| May 6, 2021 3:00 p.m. | (2) No. 3 | vs. No. 18 UCF Third Round | W 4–0 | 15–3–0 | WakeMed Soccer Park (86) Cary, NC |
| May 10, 2021 1:00 p.m., NCAA Livestream | (2) No. 3 | vs. (7) No. 8 Washington Quarterfinals | W 3–0 | 16–3–0 | WakeMed Soccer Park (74) Cary, NC |
| May 14, 2021 8:30 p.m., ESPNU | (2) No. 3 | vs. (3) No. 2 Indiana Semifinals | L 0–1 | 16–4–0 | WakeMed Soccer Park (2,667) Cary, NC |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Arturo Ordoñez | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | September 28, 2020 |
| Veljko Petkovic | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | October 12, 2020 |
| Valentin Noël | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | October 19, 2020 |
| Nico Campuzano | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 22, 2020 |
| Veljko Petkovic | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 22, 2020 |
| Valentin Noël | All-ACC Tournament Team | November 22, 2020 |
| Veljko Petkovic | MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist | January 28, 2021 |
| Valentin Noël | MAC Hermann Trophy Watchlist | January 28, 2021 |
| Valentin Noël | ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week | March 22, 2021 |
| Jackson Walti | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | March 29, 2021 |
| Jay Vidovich | ACC Coach of the Year | April 14, 2021 |
| Valentin Noël | ACC Offensive Player of the Year | April 14, 2021 |
| Jasper Löeffelsend | ACC Defensive Player of the Year | April 14, 2021 |
| Bertin Jacquesson | ACC Freshman of the Year | April 14, 2021 |
| Nico Campuzano | All ACC First-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Jasper Löeffelsend | All ACC First-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Valentin Noël | All ACC First-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Bertin Jacquesson | All ACC Second-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Veljko Petkovic | All ACC Second-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Jackson Walti | All ACC Second-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Alexander Dexter | All ACC Third-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Arturo Ordoñez | All ACC Third-Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Bertin Jacquesson | All ACC Rookie Team | April 14, 2021 |
| Filip Mirkovic | All ACC Rookie Team | April 14, 2021 |

## Rankings
### Fall 2020

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Final |
| United Soccer | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |

### Spring 2021

Ranking movement Legend: ██ Improvement in ranking. ██ Decrease in ranking. ██ Not ranked the previous week. RV=Others receiving votes. :
| Poll | Pre | Wk 1 | Wk 2 | Wk 3 | Wk 4 | Wk 5 | Wk 6 | Wk 7 | Wk 8 | Wk 9 | Wk 10 | Wk 11 | Wk 12 | Wk 13 | Final |
| United Soccer | None Released | None Released | None Released | None Released | 4 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 (1) | 1 (13) | 1 (16) | 3 (1) | None Released | None Released | 3 (2) |
| TopDrawer Soccer | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 3 |

## 2021 MLS Super Draft

| Player | Team | Round | Pick # | Position |
| Edward Kizza | New England Revolution | 1 | 24 | FW |
Source: