| Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Founded | 1954; 71 years ago (1954) | ||
| University | University of Pittsburgh | ||
| Head coach | Jay Vidovich (8th season) | ||
| Conference | ACC | ||
| Stadium | Ambrose Urbanic Field (Capacity: 735) | ||
| Nickname | Panthers | ||
| Colors | Blue and gold[1] | ||
| |||
| NCAA Tournament College Cup | |||
| 2020, 2022 | |||
| NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals | |||
| 1962, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 | |||
| NCAA Tournament Round of 16 | |||
| 1965, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 | |||
| NCAA Tournament Round of 32 | |||
| 1965, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2024 | |||
| NCAA Tournament appearances | |||
| 1962, 1965, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024 | |||
| Conference Regular Season championships | |||
| 1981, 1985, 2024 | |||
| Conference Division championships | |||
| 2020-21, 2021 | |||
Pittsburgh Panthers men's soccer is theNCAA Division Iintercollegiate men'ssoccer (association football) team of theUniversity of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", located inPittsburgh,Pennsylvania. The Pitt men's soccer competes in theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays their home games at Ambrose Urbanic Field in the university'sPetersen Sports Complex. Pitt soccer players have had eight selections asAll-Americans and multiple former Panthers have gone on to play professionally. The Panthers have appeared in sevenNCAA tournaments and have reached the College Cup twice. The Panthers have been coached byJay Vidovich since 2015.
The Pitt men's soccer program has it origins in 1951 whenLeo Bemis, who was then serving as Pitt's director of men'sintramural sports,[2] created a pick-up team at the university which playedSlippery Rock University to a 1–1 draw.[3] Through 1953, Bemis continued coaching the team which competed intercollegiately as a non-varsityclub sport.[4] However, Bemis was able to convince then Pitt athletic directorTom Hamilton to elevate the club team to varsity status in 1954.[3] Despite starting with no scholarships[5] and no feeder system in place to recruit players,[3] Pitt's first team went 8–1 in 1954,[6] and by 1955, the program had its firstAll-American selection, Jerome Bressanelli.[3] For the first 20 years of the program, Pitt played their games at various facilities including Trees Field,Forbes Field, Kennard Field in the lowerHill District neighborhood of Pittsburgh,[7] and even various high schools, with occasional games played atPitt Stadium, which at the time was primarily reserved forPitt's football team.[8]
In 1961, the soccer program received funding to provide its first scholarships,[3] and in 1962, Pitt earned its first bid to theNCAA soccer championship tournament, where it lost toMaryland, 3–4.[9] Pitt again qualified for theNCAA soccer tournament championship in 1965, but lost 0–2 on a late goal toEast Stoudsburg in game played in muddy conditions at Pitt Stadium.[3] Beginning in 1970, Pitt began play in the Western Pennsylvania Collegiate Soccer Conference (also known as the West Penn Intercollegiate Soccer Conference, or WPISC),[10] a conference that Leo Bemis helped to found and in which he would eventually lead Pitt to a conference championship in 1981.[3][11] When Pitt Stadium hadartificial turf installed in 1970 and flood lighting installed in 1973, the soccer team began regularly playing its home games in the stadium, which remained its home through the 1990s.[8]
After a 30-year tenure as head coach, Bemis was succeeded in 1984 byJoe Luxbacher, a former standout player and captain for the program who also served as an assistant under Bemis.[12] Pitt moved from the West Penn conference to theBig East Conference for the 1985 season.[13] In that first season in the Big East, Pitt finished atop the Big East South Division with an undefeated 4–0 record[14] and appeared in the 1985 Big East Tournament where they lost their first game eventual Big East tournament championSyracuse. Pitt followed that with a second place in the South Division in 1986. Pitt would also finish second in the regular season conference standings in 1992 and 1995, years when the Big East was not broken into divisions, with Luxbacher winning Big East Coach of the Year in each of those seasons.[15] While a member of the Big East, Pitt would advance to the Big East soccer tournament six times, including in 1995, when an injury riddled team[16] set a program record for number of wins, including victories over 11th-rankedSt. John's and fourth-rankedRutgers.[8] The 1995 team lost in the Big East tournament championship game to St. John's,[15] but finished the season ranked 22nd in the nation in the final Coaches' Poll.[17]
Following the demolition of Pitt Stadium in 1999, the soccer team moved its games to various locations, but primarily played home games at Founder's Field inHarmarville, Pennsylvania, an off-campus venue.[18] The program returned to campus when it moved into thePetersen Sports Complex, which houses the Ambrose Urbanic Field soccer facility, in the spring of 2011.[19] Ambrose Urbanic Field, which serves as both the practice and competition venue for the Pitt soccer team, contains 735 seats and aFIFA-certified "Duraspine" pitch.[20] The first game held at the soccer facility was an exhibition played by the men's team against thePittsburgh Riverhounds on March 20, 2011.[21] The team also uses the on-campusCost Sports Center for indoor practice during inclement weather.[22]
In 2013, Pitt moved to theAtlantic Coast Conference (ACC), bringing the Panthers into another historically strong league with 15 national championships in men's soccer.[23] Luxbacher retired as coach following the 2015 season.[24]Jay Vidovich, a former national collegiate coach of the year, was hired as Pitt's head soccer coach in 2015,[25] and has led Pitt to top 25 rankings,[26] five NCAA tournament appearances, and two College Cups.[27]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined underFIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Robby Dambrot (2017–2018) – Currently withLoudoun United FC
Edward Kizza (2017–2019) – Currently withIndy ElevenShane Wiedt (2018) – Currently withDetroit City FCJohan Peñaranda (2018–2019) – Currently withFC TulsaJackson Wälti (2018–2023) – Currently withPittsburgh Riverhounds SC
Arturo Ordoñez (2019–2021) – Currently withLouisville City FCVeljko Petković (2019–2021) – Currently withMinnesota United FC 2Bryce Washington (2019–2021) – Currently withNorth Carolina FC
Valentin Noël (2019–2022) – Currently withLas Vegas Lights FCNico Campuzano (2020–2021) – Currently withLexington SC
Jasper Löffelsend (2020–2021) – Currently withSan Diego FC
Mohammed Abualnadi (2021–2022) – Currently withSelangor F.C. andJordan international
Joe van der Sar (2021–2022) – Currently withKoninklijke HFCMichael Sullivan (2021–2024) – Currently withToronto FC II| Position | Staff |
|---|---|
| Athletic director | Allen Greene |
| Head coach | Jay Vidovich |
| Assistant coach | Bryce Cregan |
| Assistant coach | Josh Oldroyd |
| Assistant coach | Zack Schilawski |
| Nat. | Name | Period | Pl. | W | L | D | Honours | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USA | Leo Bemis | 1954–1983 | 355 | 166 | 163 | 26 | ||
| USA | Joe Luxbacher | 1984–2015 | 560 | 224 | 267 | 69 | 1992 Big East Coach of the Year 1995 Big East Coach of the Year | [30] |
| USA | Jay Vidovich | 2015–present | 202 | 109 | 74 | 19 | 2020 ACC Coach of the Year 2021 ACC Coach of the Year 2024 ACC Coach of the Year | [31][32] |
Pitt has had nine different players and nine all-timeAll-American selections.[33]
Pitt played soccer as a member of theBig East Conference from 1985 to 2012. During this time, Pitt's Joe Luxbacher won the Big East Coach of the Year award twice, Ben Garry was named to the Big East All-Rookie team, and Pitt had seven other All-Big East Team selections.[15] Players all garnered multiple Big East Scholar-Athlete Awards with over 100 players being named Big East Academic All-Stars.[34]
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In 2013, Pittsburgh began play in theAtlantic Coast Conference. The Panthers did not receive an all-conference award until 2020, when they won five out of the six all-conference awards.
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