2023 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team

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2023 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer
NCAA Tournament, Quarterfinals
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches pollNo. 6
TopDrawerSoccer.comNo. 5
Record17–6–1 (6–3–1 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
  • Ben Waldrum (6th season)
  • Jesse Goleman (1st season)
Home stadiumAmbrose Urbanic Field
Seasons
← 2022
2024 →
2023 ACC women's soccer standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T   PCT W   L   T   PCT
No. 1 Florida State  ‍y 9 0 1   .950 22 0 1   .978
No. 16 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y 7 1 2   .800 12 4 4   .700
No. 3 Clemson  ‍‍‍y 7 2 1   .750 18 4 4   .769
No. 8 North Carolina  ‍‍‍y 5 0 5   .750 13 2 8   .739
No. 6 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍y 6 3 1   .650 17 6 1   .729
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍ 4 2 4   .600 10 3 5   .694
Virginia  ‍‍‍ 3 3 4   .500 8 3 6   .647
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍ 4 6 0   .400 7 8 3   .472
Louisville  ‍‍‍ 3 5 2   .400 4 9 5   .361
Duke  ‍‍‍ 2 5 3   .350 6 7 3   .469
NC State  ‍‍‍ 2 5 3   .350 3 9 6   .333
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍ 2 7 1   .250 3 10 4   .294
Boston College  ‍‍‍ 0 6 4   .200 3 9 6   .333
Syracuse  ‍‍‍ 0 9 1   .050 2 14 2   .167
† – Conference champion
‡ – 2023 ACC Tournament champion
y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament
Source: The ACC
As of December 5, 2023
Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll


The 2023 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team represented University of Pittsburgh during the 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer season. The Panthers were led by head coach Randy Waldrum, in his sixth season. They played home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field. This was the team's 28th season playing organized women's college soccer and their 11th playing in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The Panthers started off the season as the 14th ranked team in the United Soccer Coaches Poll and won their first six games before losing to number 21 Xavier. They would win their second game of the road trip to Cincinnati to finish the non-conference season 7–1–0. Despite the almost perfect record, the Panthers fell out of the rankings as the ACC season started. They did not play a Power 5 team in non-conference play. They began their ACC season with a win, loss, and draw, with the draw coming against 10th ranked Notre Dame. They followed with four straight wins, including two against 22nd ranked Duke and 17th ranked Wake Forest. This saw them return to the rankings and number seventeen. They lost the next two games against 1st ranked Florida State and 8th ranked Clemson before winning their final conference game.

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. Their seventeen wins were the most in program history, and their six wins were the most in program history. This marked the second overall appearnce in the NCAA tournament for the team.

Previous season[edit]

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. 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 were they lost 3–0.

Offseason[edit]

Departures[edit]

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Caitlyn Lazzarini 1 GK 5'8" Senior Nazareth, Pennsylvania Graduated
Mackenzie Edwards 3 DF 5'7" Senior Jamison, Pennsylvania Graduated
Leah Pais 8 FW 5'4" Senior Mississauga, Canada Graduated
Emily Yaple 10 MF 5'5" Junior Erie, Pennsylvania Transferred to Florida[1]
Hailey Davidson 11 DF 5'4" Graduate Student Prosper, Texas Graduated
Bri Hilsenteger 14 MF 5'3" Sophomore Austin, Texas Transferred to Houston
Athalie Palomo 17 DF 5'3" Senior Irving, Texas Graduated
Elena Hinkson 18 MF 5'7" Sophomore Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast
Paige Califf 19 MF 5'8" Freshman Orange, California Transferred to CSUN
Maddie Keister 20 MF 5'6" Sophomore Le Roy, New York Transferred to Youngstown State[2]
Krystyna Rytel 22 MF 5'8" Senior Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Graduated
Keely Brown 30 DF 5'8" Freshman Castle Pines, Colorado Transferred to San Jose State
Misa Kasparcova 31 MF 5'3" Freshman Collegeville, Pennsylvania Transferred to UMBC
Gabriella Beibart 33 GK 5'8" Senior Morristown, New Jersey Graduated
Chantelle Parker 35 FW 5'7" Junior Milton, Canada Transferred to Northern Illinois

Incoming Transfers[edit]

Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous School
Emily Cooper 31 FW 5'10" Sophomore Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Recruiting Class[edit]

Name Nationality Hometown Club TDS Rating
Olivia Duray
MF
United States Woodridge, Illinois FC United (IL) [3]
Paige Dziedzic
FW
United States Chicago, Illinois Eclipse Select (IL) [4]
Emily Edwards
GK
United States Holly Springs, North Carolina North Carolina FC Youth [5]
Delaney Evers
MF
United States Oakdale, Pennsylvania Beadling SC [6]
Kaitlyn Killinger
FW
United States Plum, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Hotspurs [7]
Olivia Lee
DF
United States Scarsdale, New York NYSC [8]
Emma Rhoades
MF
United States Fenton, Michigan Nationals (GA) [9]
Kaley Simqu
DF
United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Hotspurs [10]
Sage Stelzer
DF
United States Blue Bell, Pennsylvania Penn Fusion SA [11]
Emma Van Meter
GK
United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Riverhounds [12]
Lucia Wells
FW
United States Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Riverhounds [13]

Squad[edit]

Roster[edit]

As of November 29, 2023[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
0 GK United States USA Ellie Breech
2 DF United States USA Haylee Mersereau
3 DF United States USA Lanie Fuchs
4 MF United States USA Ellie Coffield
5 FW United States USA Sarah Schupansky
6 MF United States USA Landy Mertz
7 MF United States USA Fleming Dean
8 MF Nigeria NGA Deborah Abiodun
9 FW Canada CAN Amanda West
10 MF Canada CAN Keera Melenhorst
11 DF United States USA Mackenzie Evers
12 MF Canada CAN Anna Bout
13 DF United States USA Ashley Moon
14 FW United States USA Evie Craven
15 MF Canada CAN Chloe Minas
16 FW United States USA Lucia Wells
17 FW United States USA Aliya Gomes
No. Pos. Nation Player
18 FW United States USA Paige Dzeidzic
19 FW United States USA Sofia Doheny
20 DF United States USA Olivia Lee
21 DF United States USA Katie Zailski
22 FW United States USA Delaney Evers
23 FW United States USA Samiah Phiri
24 MF United States USA Emma Rhoades
25 GK United States USA Emily Edwards
26 FW United States USA Margaret Wilde
27 MF United States USA Briana Rodriguez
28 DF United States USA Kaley Simqu
29 MF United States USA Olivia Duray
30 FW United States USA Kaitlyn Killinger
31 FW United States USA Emily Cooper
32 DF United States USA Ashton Gordon
33 GK United States USA Emma Van Meter
35 DF United States USA Sage Stelzer

Team management[edit]

Position Staff
Head Coach Randy Waldrum
Associate Head Coach Ben Waldrum
Assistant Coach Jesse Goleman

Source:[14]

Schedule[edit]

Source:[15][16]

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition
August 6*
7:00 p.m.
No. 14 at West Virginia  None Reported 
Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium
Morgantown, WV
August 10*
3:00 p.m.
No. 14 Niagara W 6–0 
Ambrose Urbanic Field
Pittsburgh, PA
Non-Conference Regular Season
August 17*
7:00 p.m., Youtube
No. 14 at Buffalo W 2–1  1–0–0
UB Stadium (375)
Buffalo, NY
August 20*
1:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 14 Drexel W 4–1  2–0–0
Ambrose Urbanic Field (657)
Pittsburgh, PA
August 24*
7:00 p.m., BoxCast
No. 21 at Kent State W 1–0  3–0–0
Zoeller Field (498)
Kent, OH
August 27*
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 21 Bucknell W 5–0  4–0–0
Ambrose Urbanic Field (786)
Pittsburgh, PA
August 31*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 21 Duquesne W 6–1  5–0–0
Ambrose Urbanic Field (939)
Pittsburgh, PA
September 3*
4:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 21 Bowling Green W 5–1  6–0–0
Ambrose Urbanic Field (733)
Pittsburgh, PA
September 7*
7:00 p.m., FloFC
No. 22 at No. 21 Xavier L 1–2  6–1–0
Corcoran Field (726)
Cincinnati, OH
September 10*
1:00 p.m., ESPN+
No. 22 at Cincinnati W 2–1  7–1–0
Gettler Stadium (280)
Cincinnati, OH
ACC Regular season
September 17
2:00 p.m., ACCNX
at NC State W 2–0  8–1–0
(1–0–0)
Dail Soccer Field (331)
Raleigh, NC
September 21
8:00 p.m., ACCN
at Louisville L 2–3  8–2–0
(1–1–0)
Lynn Stadium (279)
Louisville, KY
September 24
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 10 Notre Dame T 1–1  8–2–1
(1–1–1)
Ambrose Urbanic Field (973)
Pittsburgh, PA
September 30
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
Boston College W 2–0  9–2–1
(2–1–1)
Ambrose Urbanic Field (858)
Pittsburgh, PA
October 5
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 22 Duke W 2–1  10–2–1
(3–1–1)
Ambrose Urbanic Field (958)
Pittsburgh, PA
October 8
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 17 Wake Forest W 4–1  11–2–1
(4–1–1)
Ambrose Urbanic Field (545)
Pittsburgh, PA
October 14
1:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 17 at Syracuse W 6–0  12–2–1
(5–1–1)
SU Soccer Stadium (187)
Syracuse, NY
October 19
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 18 at No. 1 Florida State L 2–3  12–3–1
(5–2–1)
Seminole Soccer Complex (1,125)
Tallahassee, FL
October 22
2:00 p.m., ACCN
No. 18 at No. 9 Clemson L 0–1  12–4–1
(5–3–1)
Riggs Field (867)
Clemson, SC
October 26
7:00 p.m., ACCNX
No. 20 Virginia Tech W 2–1  13–4–1
(6–3–1)
Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,280)
Pittsburgh, PA
ACC Tournament
October 29
8:00 p.m., ACCN
(5) No. 20 at (4) No. 3 North Carolina
First Round
W 2–1 2OT 14–4–1
Dorrance Field (1,174)
Chapel Hill, NC
November 2
8:00 p.m., ACCN
(5) No. 11 vs. (1) No. 1 Florida State
Semifinal
L 0–2  14–5–1
Sahlen's Stadium (678)
Cary, NC
NCAA Tournament
November 11
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
(7) No. 11 Ohio State
First Round
W 6–0  15–5–1
Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,309)
Pittsburgh, PA
November 17
7:30 p.m., ESPN+
(7) No. 11 at (2) No. 10 Arkansas
Second Round
W 4–3  16–5–1
Razorback Field (2,215)
Fayetteville, AR
November 19
7:00 p.m., ESPN+
(7) No. 11 at (6) No. 8 Memphis
Round of 16
W 3–0  17–5–1
Razorback Field (719)
Fayetteville, AR
November 24
5:30 p.m., ESPN+
(7) No. 11 at (1) No. 1 Florida State
Quarterfinals
L 0–3  17–6–1
Seminole Soccer Complex (2,000)
Tallahassee, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern.

Awards and honors[edit]

Recipient Award Date Ref.
Amanda West Preseason All-ACC Team August 10 [17]
Sarah Schupansky ACC Offensive Player of the Week August 29 [18]
Sarah Schupanksy All-ACC First Team November 1 [19]
Amanda West All-ACC Second Team
Deborah Abiodun All-ACC Third Team
Landy Mertz
Samiah Phiri
Amanda West All-ACC Tournament Team November 5 [20]
Landy Mertz

Rankings[edit]

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre123456789101112131415Final
United Soccer[21]14212122RVRVRV17182011Not released6
TopDrawer Soccer[22]1514131115111814119131098555

2024 NWSL Draft[edit]

Pittsburgh had two players selected in the 2024 NWSL Draft. This was the first time in program history that Pittsburgh had any players selected in the NWSL Draft.[23][24]

Player Team Round Pick # Position
Canada Amanda West Houston Dash 3 36 FW
United States Landy Mertz North Carolina Courage 4 52 FW

References[edit]

  1. ^ Howard, Mary (May 5, 2023). "Gator Soccer Adds Transfer Emily Yaple". floridagators.com. University of Florida Athletics. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  2. ^ "Women's Soccer Adds Gonzalez, Keister for 2023". ysusports.com. Youngstown State Athletics. June 16, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  3. ^ "Olivia Duray". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  4. ^ "Paige Dziedzic". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  5. ^ "Emily Edwards". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  6. ^ "Delaney Evers". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  7. ^ "Kaitlyn Killinger". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  8. ^ "Olivia Lee". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  9. ^ "Emma Rhoades". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  10. ^ "Kaley Simqu". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  11. ^ "Sage Stelzer". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  12. ^ "Emma Van Meter". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  13. ^ "Lucia Wells". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  14. ^ a b "2023 Women's Soccer Roster". pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh Athletics. Retrieved November 29, 2023.
  15. ^ "2023 Women's Soccer Schedule". pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  16. ^ "Women's Soccer Debuts 2023 Schedule". pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh. June 29, 2023. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  17. ^ "North Carolina Named 2023 ACC Women's Soccer Preseason Favorite". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 10, 2023. Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  18. ^ "Pitt's Schupansky, UNC's Meza Named ACC Women's Soccer Players of Week". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 29, 2023. Retrieved August 29, 2023.
  19. ^ "2023 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 1, 2023. Retrieved November 1, 2023.
  20. ^ "Florida State Wins Fourth Consecutive ACC Women's Soccer Title". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 5, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  21. ^ "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Women — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  22. ^ "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. TopDrawer Soccer. December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  23. ^ "Conference-Record 19 Players Selected in 2024 NWSL Draft, UNC's Sentnor Goes No. 1 Overall". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.
  24. ^ "Mertz, West Become First Panthers Drafted in NWSL in Program History". pittsburghpanthers.com. Pittsburgh Panthers Athletics. January 12, 2024. Retrieved January 13, 2024.