# 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team

The 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team represented University of Pittsburgh during the 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Randy Waldrum, in his fifth season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 27th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 10th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Panthers finished the season 14–5–3 overall and 5–3–2 in ACC play to finish in sixth place. As the sixth seed in the ACC Tournament they tied Notre Dame 1–1, but lost the ensuing penalty shoot-out 5–4. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, the first tournament bid in program history. As the fourth-seed in the Florida State Bracket, they defeated Buffalo in the first round and, fifth-seed Georgetown in the second round before traveling to first-seed Florida State in the round of 16. The Panthers' run would end in Tallahassee where they lost 3–0.

## Previous season

The Panthers finished the season 11–7–0 overall, and 4–6–0 in ACC play to finish in ninth place. They did not qualify for the ACC Tournament and were not invited to the NCAA Tournament.

## Offseason
### Departures

Departures :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Reason for Departure |
| Katherine Robinson | 0 | GK | 6'0" | Senior | Albuquerque, New Mexico | Graduated |
| Eva Frankovic | 13 | DF | 5'7" | Sophomore | North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Bucknell |
| Sarah Sinnott | 14 | FW | 5'4" | Junior | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Signed with Maccabi Emek Hefer |
| Kate McKay | 19 | DF | 5'10" | Senior | Scottsdale, Arizona | Graduated |
| Celia Lopez | 21 | MF | 5'2" | Senior | Pamplona, Spain | Graduated |
| Lacey Bernick | 23 | FW | 5'6" | Freshman | North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Akron |
| Madison Vukas | 25 | GK | 5'8" | Freshman | Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Bowling Green |
| Kelly Moss | 26 | MF | 5'5" | Senior | Lumberton, New Jersey | Graduated |
| Hannah Knych | 27 | MF | 5'4" | Sophomore | Manlius, New York | Transferred to Binghamton |
| Emily Harrigan | 29 | FW | 5'7" | Junior | North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania | Graduated |
| Katelyn Kauffman | 30 | FW | 5'6" | Freshman | North Huntingdon, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast |
| Sara Darlington | 31 | FW | 5'5" | Freshman | West Chester, Pennsylvania | Transferred to Pennsylvania College of Technology |

### Incoming Transfers

Incoming Transfers :
| Name | Number | Pos. | Height | Year | Hometown | Previous School |
| Samiah Phiri | 23 | FW | 5'6" | Sophomore | Irving, Texas | Oklahoma State |
| Keera Melenhorst | 29 | MF | 5'3" | Sophomore | Ottawa, Canada | Oklahoma |

### Recruiting Class

Source:
| Name | Hometown | Club | TDS Rating |
| Ellie Breech GK | Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania | PA Classics | |
| Paige Califf MF | Orange, California | Slammers FC HB Koge | |
| Elizabeth Fleming Dean MF | Marietta, Georgia | United Futbol Academy | |
| Mackenzie Evers FW | Oakdale, Pennsylvania | Beadling SC | |
| Michaela Kasparcova MF | Collegeville, Pennsylvania | Penn Fusion SA | |
| Haylee Mersereau DF | Boca Raton, Florida | Weston FC | |
| Margaret Wilde FW | Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania | Penn Fusion SA | |
| Kathleen Zailski DF | Summerville, South Carolina | GSA | N/A |

## Squad
### Roster

    As of September 22, 2022
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 | Caitlyn Lazzarini |
| 2 | DF | USA | Haylee Mersereau |
| 3 | MF | USA | Mackenzie Edwards |
| 4 | MF | USA | Ellie Coffield |
| 5 | FW | USA | Sarah Schupansky |
| 6 | MF | USA | Landy Mertz |
| 7 | MF | USA | Fleming Dean |
| 8 | FW | CAN | Leah Pais |
| 9 | FW | CAN | Amanda West |
| 10 | MF | USA | Emily Yaple |
| 11 | DF | USA | Hailey Davidson |
| 12 | MF | CAN | Anna Bout |
| 13 | DF | USA | Ashley Moon |
| 14 | MF | USA | Bri Hilsenteger |
| 15 | MF | CAN | Chloe Minas |
| 16 | MF | USA | Haley Schmidt |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 17 | DF | MEX | Athalie Palomo |
| 18 | MF | USA | Elena Hinkson |
| 19 | MF | USA | Paige Califf |
| 20 | MF | USA | Maddie Keister |
| 21 | DF | USA | Katie Zailski |
| 22 | MF | USA | Krystyna Rytel |
| 23 | FW | USA | Samiah Phiri |
| 26 | FW | USA | Margaret Wilde |
| 27 | MF | USA | Briana Rodriguez |
| 28 | FW | USA | Mackenzie Evers |
| 29 | MF | USA | Keera Melenhorst |
| 30 | DF | USA | Keely Brown |
| 31 | MF | USA | Misa Kasparcova |
| 32 | DF | USA | Ashton Gordon |
| 33 | GK | USA | Gabriella Neibart |
| 35 | FW | CAN | Chantelle Parker |

### Team management

| Position | Staff |
| Head Coach | Randy Waldrum |
| Associate Head Coach | Ben Waldrum |
| Assistant Coach | Dustin Stein |
Source:

## Schedule

Source:
| Date Time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (Attendance) City, State |
| Non-Conference Regular Season ||||||
| August 18* 3:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | vs. Gonzaga | W 1–0 | 1–0–0 | South Campus Stadium (104) Missoula, MT |
| August 21* 6:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Montana | W 2–0 | 2–0–0 | South Campus Stadium (545) Missoula, MT |
| August 25* 5:00 p.m., ACCNX | | UMass | W 6–1 | 3–0–0 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (721) Pittsburgh, PA |
| August 28* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at Cleveland State | W 4–0 | 4–0–0 | Krenzler Field (400) Cleveland, Ohio |
| August 31* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Kent State | W 7–0 | 5–0–0 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (522) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 4* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Cincinnati | W 2–0 | 6–0–0 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (522) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 8* 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | | at VCU | L 2–3 | 6–1–0 | Sports Backers Stadium (298) Richmond, VA |
| September 11* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | Liberty | W 3–2 | 7–1–0 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (546) Pittsburgh, PA |
| ACC Regular season ||||||
| September 16 5:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at Virginia Tech | W 4–1 | 8–1–0 (1–0–0) | Thompson Field (708) Blacksburg, VA |
| September 22 6:00 p.m., ACCN | | Miami (FL) | W 3–1 | 9–1–0 (2–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (505) Pittsburgh, PA |
| September 25 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | | at No. 18 Notre Dame | W 3–1 | 10–1–0 (3–0–0) | Alumni Stadium (395) Notre Dame, IN |
| October 1 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 14 | Louisville | W 1–0 | 11–1–0 (4–0–0) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (409) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 6 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 13 | at No. 5 North Carolina | L 0–4 | 11–2–0 (4–1–0) | Dorrance Field (2,602) Chapel Hill, NC |
| October 9 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 13 | at No. 7 Duke | L 0–1 | 11–3–0 (4–2–0) | Koskinen Stadium (645) Durham, NC |
| October 15 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 21 | at Boston College | T 1–1 | 11–3–1 (4–2–1) | Newton Campus Soccer Field (642) Chestnut Hill, MA |
| October 20 6:00 p.m., ACCN | No. 20 | Syracuse | W 2–0 | 12–3–1 (5–2–1) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (908) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 23 1:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 20 | No. 4 Florida State | L 0–1 | 12–4–1 (5–3–1) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (832) Pittsburgh, PA |
| October 27 7:00 p.m., ACCNX | No. 19 | Clemson | T 0–0 | 12–4–2 (5–3–2) | Ambrose Urbanic Field (723) Pittsburgh, PA |
| ACC Tournament ||||||
| October 30 6:00 p.m., ACCN | (6) No. 19 | at (3) No. 4 Notre Dame First Round | T 1–1 (4–5 PKs) $^{2OT}$ | 12–4–3 | Alumni Stadium (428) Notre Dame, IN |
| NCAA Tournament ||||||
| November 12 7:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) No. 19 | Buffalo First Round | W 1–0 | 13–4–3 | Ambrose Urbanic Field (994) Pittsburgh, PA |
| November 18 2:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) No. 19 | vs. (5) No. 18 Georgetown Second Round | W 2–1 | 14–4–3 | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,668) Tallahassee, FL |
| November 20 5:00 p.m., ESPN+ | (4) No. 19 | at (1) No. 5 Florida State Round of 16 | L 0–3 | 14–5–3 | Seminole Soccer Complex (1,238) Tallahassee, FL |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern. ||||||

## Awards and honors

| Recipient | Award | Date |
| Amanda West | ACC Offensive Player of the Week | August 23 |
| Caitlyn Lazzarini | ACC Defensive Player of the Week | November 1 |
| Landy Mertz | All-ACC Third Team | November 2 |
| Katie Zailski | ACC All-Freshman Team | November 2 |

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked :
| | 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 | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 13 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 19 | Not released | Not released | Not released | Not released | 12 |
| TopDrawer Soccer | — | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 10 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 20 | 25 | 22 | 20 | 20 | 20 |