No. 13 Pitt Women’s Soccer Visits No. 5 North Carolina

THE MATCHUP

PITTSBURGH – The No. 13-ranked Pitt women’s soccer team (11-1-0, 4-0-0 ACC) begins a stretch of three-straight road games with a visit to Chapel Hill, N.C. to clash with No. 5-ranked North Carolina (9-3-0, 2-2-0 ACC) Thursday at Dorrance Field. The matchup is set for a 7 p.m. first touch and will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. The Panthers take their second five-game winning streak of the 2022 season into Thursday’s contest. Pitt opened the year with six-straight victories, which matched its best start to a season in program history.

MOVIN’ UP

Pitt moved up one spot to No. 13 in the country in the latest United Soccer Coaches Rankings.

The Panthers entered the rankings at No. 14 a week ago, marking the third-straight year Pitt has appeared in the weekly poll. Pitt reached as high as No. 19 in the poll last season and No. 12 in 2020.

BATTLE OF RANKED TEAMS

Pitt’s matchup against No. 5-ranked North Carolina on Thursday marks the program’s third showdown as a ranked team against a ranked opponent. Last season, then-No. 20-ranked Pitt hosted then-No. 6-ranked TCU and fell by a 1-0 score. In 2020, the then-No. 14-ranked Panthers suffered a 2-1 overtime setback to then-No. 10-ranked Virginia. 

TOP TWO

The Panthers have climbed all the way to No. 2 in the NCAA’s third Rating Percentage Index (RPI) report of the 2022 season after opening at No. 18 in the initial report and then moving up to seventh last week.

HOT START

With 11 wins in 12 attempts, Pitt is off to its best start in program history. With their next victory, the Panthers will set the program standard for the most victories in a single season.

AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

Pitt and Florida State are only remaining unbeatens in the ACC in conference play and are tied atop the standings with 12 points apiece. The Panthers have opened ACC play with four wins in four tries for the first time in program history. Pitt earned its fourth ACC victory last Saturday at Ambrose Urbanic Field courtesy of Samiah Phiri’s game winner in the 79th minute, securing a 1-0 victory over Louisville.

A FIRST TIME FOR EVERYTHING

ACC play has seen Pitt record its first-ever wins over Virginia Tech (4-1) and Notre Dame (3-1). The Panthers were previously 0-7-1 against the Hokies and 0-15-1 against the Fighting Irish.

BUILDING THE PROGRAM

The Panthers are…