2023 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team explained

Sport:women's soccer
Year:2023
Team:Pittsburgh Panthers
Conference:Atlantic Coast Conference
Short Conf:ACC
Record:17–6–1
Conf Record:6–3–1
Hc Year:6th
Asst Coach1:Ben Waldrum
Ac1 Year:6th
Asst Coach2:Jesse Goleman
Ac2 Year:1st
Stadium:Ambrose Urbanic Field
Tourney:NCAA Tournament
Tourney Result:Quarterfinals
Nscaarank:6
Tdsrank:5
Prev Year:2022
Next Year:2024

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 . 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 6–0 in the First Round and, second-seed in the Second Round and sixth seed 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 appearance in the NCAA tournament for the team.

Previous season

See main article: 2022 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team.

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 in the first round and, fifth-seed 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.

Offseason

Departures

Departures
NameNumberPos.HeightYearHometownReason for Departure
Caitlyn Lazzarini 1 GK 5'8" Senior Graduated
Mackenzie Edwards 3 DF 5'7" Senior Graduated
Leah Pais 8 FW 5'4" Senior Graduated
Emily Yaple 10 MF 5'5" Junior Transferred to Florida[1]
Hailey Davidson 11 DF 5'4" Graduate Student Graduated
Bri Hilsenteger 14 MF 5'3" Sophomore Transferred to Houston
Athalie Palomo 17 DF 5'3" Senior Graduated
Elena Hinkson 18 MF 5'7" Sophomore Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast
Paige Califf 19 MF 5'8" Freshman Transferred to CSUN
Maddie Keister 20 MF 5'6" Sophomore Transferred to Youngstown State[2]
Krystyna Rytel 22 MF 5'8" Senior Graduated
Keely Brown 30 DF 5'8" Freshman Transferred to San Jose State
Misa Kasparcova 31 MF 5'3" Freshman Transferred to UMBC
Gabriella Beibart 33 GK 5'8" Senior Graduated
Chantelle Parker 35 FW 5'7" Junior Transferred to Northern Illinois

Recruiting Class

NameNationalityHometownClubTDS Rating
FC United (IL) [3]
Eclipse Select (IL) [4]
North Carolina FC Youth [5]
Beadling SC [6]
Pittsburgh Hotspurs [7]
NYSC [8]
Nationals (GA) [9]
Pittsburgh Hotspurs [10]
Penn Fusion SA [11]
Pittsburgh Riverhounds [12]
Pittsburgh Riverhounds [13]

Squad

Roster

[14]

Team management

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

Source:

Schedule

Source:[15] [16] |-!colspan=6 style=""| Exhibition|-!colspan=6 style=""| Non-Conference Regular Season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Regular season|-!colspan=6 style=""| ACC Tournament|-!colspan=6 style=""| NCAA Tournament

Awards and honors

RecipientAwardDate Ref.
Amanda WestPreseason All-ACC TeamAugust 10[17]
Sarah SchupanskyACC Offensive Player of the WeekAugust 29[18]
Sarah SchupanksyAll-ACC First TeamNovember 1[19]
Amanda WestAll-ACC Second Team
Deborah AbiodunAll-ACC Third Team
Landy Mertz
Samiah Phiri
Amanda WestAll-ACC Tournament TeamNovember 5[20]
Landy Mertz

Rankings

See also: 2023 NCAA Division I women's soccer rankings.

2024 NWSL Draft

See main article: 2024 NWSL Draft.

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.[21] [22]

Player Team Round Pick # Position
3 36 FW
4 52 FW

Notes and References

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