Pitt men’s soccer team defeats No. 1 Kentucky to reach 3rd consecutive NCAA Elite 8
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Pitt men’s soccer traveled a difficult road to its third consecutive NCAA Elite Eight berth, but the Panthers rallied from an early deficit and defeated previously undefeated and No. 1 Kentucky on Sunday night, 2-1.
Pitt will be the host for an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal match against Portland on campus at Ambrose Urbanic Field. Day and time will be announced later.
Bertin Jacquesson broke a 1-1 tie with the decisive goal in the 87th minute after Pitt (11-4-5) had been assessed a red card eight minutes earlier. Jacquesson found space outside the top of the box and blasted a shot into the upper left corner of the net. Josh Luchini picked up the assist.
“I am not sure the mentality shifted that much,” Pit coach Jay Vidovich said about being down a man. “I think we just stuck to what we had been demonstrating the whole match, which is resiliency and sticking to a plan.
“They followed the plan and did it even better than what we thought. Their resiliency and fight and battle was there from the beginning. They stepped it up at that time at a huge moment and I am really proud of them.”
The game was scoreless for the first 45 minutes before Kentucky’s Casper Grening ripped a cross into the lower right corner of the net.
Pitt responded a little more than a minute later when Valentin Noel volleyed a loose ball into the back of the net for his 34th career goal, second in program history. Jackson Gilman set up the goal when he headed a shot toward the goal.
The defense took it from there, and goalkeeper Joe van der Sar won his 11th game of the season..
“I think it was the whole team,” Vidovich said. “The guys that came off the bench and the guys that put pressure on their back line. We tried to make sure we were putting pressure on both sides and our guys did a great job reading it.”