No. 9 Wake Forest Begins ACC Play at Pitt

PITTSBURGH – The No. 9 ranked Wake Forest men's soccer team will head to Pennsylvania this weekend to compete in the program's ACC opener against Pitt at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

Kick-off between the Demon Deacons and Panthers is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

The Matchup

Wake Forest and Pitt will meet in the ACC opener for each program in Saturday night's showdown at Ambrose Urbanic Field.
The Demon Deacons will enter the contest as the No. 9 ranked team in the latest United Soccer Coaches poll. Pitt, meanwhile, is receiving votes and was ranked No. 5 in the preseason poll.
The Deacs come to Panther territory with a 2-0-2 overall record with victories over Grand Canyon and Furman and draws against Cal and then-No. 20 Maryland. Pitt, meanwhile, is 1-2-1 with a victory over Howard, a draw against current No. 14 Penn State and losses suffered to Georgetown and current No. 2 Marshall.
In the preseason ACC poll, Wake Forest was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Division with Pitt selected to top the Coastal Division.
Wake Forest holds the ACC's longest consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances streak at 12-straight years while Pitt is tied with Clemson for the second-longest streak in the conference at four-straight years.
Saturday's matchup will be the sixth all-time meeting between the Demon Deacons and Panthers.
Wake Forest holds a 5-0-0 record against Pitt in the all-time series including a 3-1 victory in the most recent meeting on Sept. 17, 2021.
This is Wake Forest's first appearance at Ambrose Urbanic Field since a 2-0 victory on Sept. 13, 2019.

Last Time Out

Wake Forest on Monday scored a 5-1 victory over Furman in the team's return to Spry Stadium following a 0-0 decision at then-No. 20 Maryland last Friday.
In the win against the Paladins, the Demon Deacons were fueled by four second half goals while limiting Furman to just one shot over the final 45 minutes of action.
Three of the five Wake Forest goals came from Roald Mitchell, as he became just the sixth player in program history to record multiple hat tricks in his Demon Deacon career.
Reigning ACC Defensive Player of the Week Trace Alphin played all 90 minutes in goal.
In total, 26 players recorded playing time in the 5-1 result including season debuts for Prince Amponsah, Cristian Escribano, Jake Swallen and Nicolas Mancilla while Pranav DuBroff made his first collegiate appearance.

Scouting the Panthers

The Panthers will enter Saturday night's ACC opener with a 1-2-1 overall record. So far this season Pitt has beaten Howard (5-0), drew with current No. 14 Penn State (1-1) and lost to Georgetown (4-1) and current No. 2 Marshall (3-1).
Five different Panthers have scored this season, led by Luka Kozomara's three goals and two from Albert Thorsen. Seven Pitt players have also registered an assist through four matches.
Cabral Carter has started all four matches in goal for the Panthers and collected seven saves.
The Panthers are led by Jay Vidovich, who is in his eighth year at the helm of the program following a 21-year stint as the head coach at Wake Forest. Under Vidovich, Pitt has earned two trips to the NCAA College Cup (2020 and 2022) in the last three seasons.
Pitt was selected as the preseason favorite to win the ACC's Coastal Division and also earned a vote as the conference's overall champion.

Looking Ahead

Wake Forest will return to Winston-Salem to start a four-match homestand, beginning with Gardner-Webb on Tuesday night.
Kick-off against the Runnin' Bulldogs is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the match will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.

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Players Mentioned

Trace Alphin

Prince Amponsah

Pranav DuBroff

Cristian Escribano

Nicolas Mancilla

Roald Mitchell

Jake Swallen

Wake Forest Athletics