2022 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team

2022 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer
NCAA Tournament, Round of 16
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches poll	No. 12
TopDrawerSoccer.com	No. 20
Record	14–5–3 (5–3–2 ACC)
Head coach	Randy Waldrum (5th season)
Assistant coaches	Ben Waldrum (5th season) Dustin Stein (5th season)
Home stadium	Ambrose Urbanic Field

2022 ACC women's soccer standings

v t e	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 2 North Carolina  ‍†‍‍^y	8	–	2	–	0		.800			20	–	5	–	1		.788
No. 3 Florida State  ‍†‍‡‍^y	8	–	2	–	0		.800			17	–	3	–	3		.804
No. 5 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍^y	7	–	2	–	1		.750			17	–	3	–	3		.804
No. 7 Virginia  ‍‍‍^y	6	–	2	–	2		.700			16	–	4	–	3		.761
No. 6 Duke  ‍‍‍^y	6	–	2	–	2		.700			15	–	5	–	3		.717
No. 12 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍^y	5	–	3	–	2		.600			14	–	5	–	3		.705
Clemson  ‍‍‍^y	4	–	3	–	3		.550			8	–	5	–	5		.583
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍^y	4	–	5	–	1		.450			10	–	7	–	2		.579
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍^y	3	–	6	–	1		.350			9	–	7	–	3		.553
Louisville  ‍‍‍	3	–	7	–	0		.300			6	–	8	–	2		.438
NC State  ‍‍‍^y	2	–	6	–	2		.300			7	–	7	–	6		.500
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍	2	–	7	–	1		.250			5	–	8	–	3		.406
Syracuse  ‍‍‍	1	–	6	–	3		.250			8	–	7	–	3		.528
Boston College  ‍‍‍	1	–	7	–	2		.200			5	–	8	–	5		.417
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2022 ACC Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament Source: The ACC As of December 6, 2022 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll

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.[1] 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[2]
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:[3]

Name	Nationality	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
Ellie Breech GK		Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	PA Classics	[4]
Paige Califf MF		Orange, California	Slammers FC HB Koge	[5]
Elizabeth Fleming Dean MF		Marietta, Georgia	United Futbol Academy	[6]
Mackenzie Evers FW		Oakdale, Pennsylvania	Beadling SC	[7]
Michaela Kasparcova MF		Collegeville, Pennsylvania	Penn Fusion SA	[8]
Haylee Mersereau DF		Boca Raton, Florida	Weston FC	[9]
Margaret Wilde FW		Lower Gwynedd, Pennsylvania	Penn Fusion SA	[10]
Kathleen Zailski DF		Summerville, South Carolina	GSA	N/A[11]

Squad

Roster

As of September 22, 2022[12]

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:[12]

Schedule

Source:[13]

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	Ref.
Amanda West	ACC Offensive Player of the Week	August 23	[14]
Caitlyn Lazzarini	ACC Defensive Player of the Week	November 1	[15]
Landy Mertz	All-ACC Third Team	November 2	[16]
Katie Zailski	ACC All-Freshman Team

Rankings

Main article: 2022 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings

Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked

	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	Final
United Soccer[17]	—	—	—	—	—	—	14	13	21	20	19	19	Not released				12
TopDrawer Soccer[18]	—	—	—	—	—	—	14	10	15	19	19	20	25	22	20	20	20

References

1. "Pitt women's soccer team makes first ever ncaa tournament". post-gazette.com. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 7, 2022. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
2. "Fox Chapel Grad Headed to Israel to Play Pro Soccer". fcasdathletics.org. Fox Chapel Area School District. December 10, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
3. "Pitt Women's Soccer Announces 2022 Recruiting Class". pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh. November 9, 2021. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
4. "Ellie Breech". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
5. "Paige Califf". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
6. "Elizabeth Fleming Dean". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
7. "Mackenzie Evers". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
8. "Michaela Kasparcova". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
9. "Haylee Mersereau". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
10. "Margaret Wilde". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
11. "Kathleen Zailski". topdrawersoccer.com. Top Drawer Soccer. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
12. "2022 Women's Soccer Roster". pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh Athletics. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
13. "2022 Women's Soccer Schedule". pittsburghpanthers.com. University of Pittsburgh. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
14. "Pitt's West, UNC's Hansen Named ACC's First Women's Soccer Players of Week for 2022". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. August 23, 2022. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
15. "ACC Announces Women's Soccer Player of Week Honors". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 1, 2022. Retrieved November 1, 2022.
16. "2022 All-ACC Women's Soccer Awards Announced". theacc.com. Atlantic Coast Conference. November 2, 2022. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
17. "United Soccer Coaches Top 25 NCAA DI Women — National". unitedsoccercoaches.org. United Soccer Coaches. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
18. "College Soccer National Rankings". TopDrawer Soccer. TopDrawer Soccer. December 5, 2022. Retrieved December 6, 2022.