2023 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer team

2023 Pittsburgh Panthers women's soccer
NCAA Tournament, Quarterfinals
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
U. Soc. Coaches poll	No. 6
TopDrawerSoccer.com	No. 5
Record	17–6–1 (6–3–1 ACC)
Head coach	Randy Waldrum (6th season)
Assistant coaches	Ben Waldrum (6th season) Jesse Goleman (1st season)
Home stadium	Ambrose Urbanic Field
Seasons ← 2022 2024 →

2023 ACC women's soccer standings

v t e	Conf									Overall
Team	W		L		T		PCT			W		L		T		PCT
No. 1 Florida State  ‍†‍‡‍y	9	–	0	–	1		.950			22	–	0	–	1		.978
No. 16 Notre Dame  ‍‍‍y	7	–	1	–	2		.800			12	–	4	–	4		.700
No. 3 Clemson  ‍‍‍y	7	–	2	–	1		.750			18	–	4	–	4		.769
No. 8 North Carolina  ‍‍‍y	5	–	0	–	5		.750			13	–	2	–	8		.739
No. 6 Pittsburgh  ‍‍‍y	6	–	3	–	1		.650			17	–	6	–	1		.729
Wake Forest  ‍‍‍	4	–	2	–	4		.600			10	–	3	–	5		.694
Virginia  ‍‍‍	3	–	3	–	4		.500			8	–	3	–	6		.647
Virginia Tech  ‍‍‍	4	–	6	–	0		.400			7	–	8	–	3		.472
Louisville  ‍‍‍	3	–	5	–	2		.400			4	–	9	–	5		.361
Duke  ‍‍‍	2	–	5	–	3		.350			6	–	7	–	3		.469
NC State  ‍‍‍	2	–	5	–	3		.350			3	–	9	–	6		.333
Miami (FL)  ‍‍‍	2	–	7	–	1		.250			3	–	10	–	4		.294
Boston College  ‍‍‍	0	–	6	–	4		.200			3	–	9	–	6		.333
Syracuse  ‍‍‍	0	–	9	–	1		.050			2	–	14	–	2		.167
† – Conference champion ‡ – 2023 ACC Tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA Tournament Source: The ACC As of December 5, 2023 Rankings from United Soccer Coaches Poll

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 Xavier. 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 Ohio State 6–0 in the First Round and, second-seed Arkansas in the Second Round and sixth seed Memphis 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.

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 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.

Departures

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Reason for Departure
Caitlyn Lazzarini	1	GK	5'8"	Senior	Nazareth, Pennsylvania	Graduated
Mackenzie Edwards	3	DF	5'7"	Senior	Jamison, Pennsylvania	Graduated
Leah Pais	8	FW	5'4"	Senior	Mississauga, Canada	Graduated
Emily Yaple	10	MF	5'5"	Junior	Erie, Pennsylvania	Transferred to Florida[1]
Hailey Davidson	11	DF	5'4"	Graduate Student	Prosper, Texas	Graduated
Bri Hilsenteger	14	MF	5'3"	Sophomore	Austin, Texas	Transferred to Houston
Athalie Palomo	17	DF	5'3"	Senior	Irving, Texas	Graduated
Elena Hinkson	18	MF	5'7"	Sophomore	Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania	Transferred to Florida Gulf Coast
Paige Califf	19	MF	5'8"	Freshman	Orange, California	Transferred to CSUN
Maddie Keister	20	MF	5'6"	Sophomore	Le Roy, New York	Transferred to Youngstown State[2]
Krystyna Rytel	22	MF	5'8"	Senior	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Graduated
Keely Brown	30	DF	5'8"	Freshman	Castle Pines, Colorado	Transferred to San Jose State
Misa Kasparcova	31	MF	5'3"	Freshman	Collegeville, Pennsylvania	Transferred to UMBC
Gabriella Beibart	33	GK	5'8"	Senior	Morristown, New Jersey	Graduated
Chantelle Parker	35	FW	5'7"	Junior	Milton, Canada	Transferred to Northern Illinois

Incoming Transfers

Name	Number	Pos.	Height	Year	Hometown	Previous School
Emily Cooper	31	FW	5'10"	Sophomore	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Name	Nationality	Hometown	Club	TDS Rating
Olivia Duray MF		Woodridge, Illinois	FC United (IL)	[3]
Paige Dziedzic FW		Chicago, Illinois	Eclipse Select (IL)	[4]
Emily Edwards GK		Holly Springs, North Carolina	North Carolina FC Youth	[5]
Delaney Evers MF		Oakdale, Pennsylvania	Beadling SC	[6]
Kaitlyn Killinger FW		Plum, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Hotspurs	[7]
Olivia Lee DF		Scarsdale, New York	NYSC	[8]
Emma Rhoades MF		Fenton, Michigan	Nationals (GA)	[9]
Kaley Simqu DF		Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Hotspurs	[10]
Sage Stelzer DF		Blue Bell, Pennsylvania	Penn Fusion SA	[11]
Emma Van Meter GK		Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	[12]
Lucia Wells FW		Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania	Pittsburgh Riverhounds	[13]

As of November 29, 2023^[14]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 0 GK  USA Ellie Breech 2 DF  USA Haylee Mersereau 3 DF  USA Lanie Fuchs 4 MF  USA Ellie Coffield 5 FW  USA Sarah Schupansky 6 MF  USA Landy Mertz 7 MF  USA Fleming Dean 8 MF  NGA Deborah Abiodun 9 FW  CAN Amanda West 10 MF  CAN Keera Melenhorst 11 DF  USA Mackenzie Evers 12 MF  CAN Anna Bout 13 DF  USA Ashley Moon 14 FW  USA Evie Craven 15 MF  CAN Chloe Minas 16 FW  USA Lucia Wells 17 FW  USA Aliya Gomes

No. Pos. Nation Player 18 FW  USA Paige Dzeidzic 19 FW  USA Sofia Doheny 20 DF  USA Olivia Lee 21 DF  USA Katie Zailski 22 FW  USA Delaney Evers 23 FW  USA Samiah Phiri 24 MF  USA Emma Rhoades 25 GK  USA Emily Edwards 26 FW  USA Margaret Wilde 27 MF  USA Briana Rodriguez 28 DF  USA Kaley Simqu 29 MF  USA Olivia Duray 30 FW  USA Kaitlyn Killinger 31 FW  USA Emily Cooper 32 DF  USA Ashton Gordon 33 GK  USA Emma Van Meter 35 DF  USA Sage Stelzer

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

Source:^[14]

Source:^[15][16]

Date Time, TV	Rank#	Opponent#	Result	Record	Site (Attendance) City, State
Exhibition
August 6* 7:00 p.m.	No. 14	at West Virginia	None Reported	—	Dick Dlesk Soccer Stadium Morgantown, WV
August 10* 3:00 p.m.	No. 14	Niagara	W 6–0	—	Ambrose Urbanic Field Pittsburgh, PA
Non-Conference Regular Season
August 17* 7:00 p.m., Youtube	No. 14	at Buffalo	W 2–1	1–0–0	UB Stadium (375) Buffalo, NY
August 20* 1:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 14	Drexel	W 4–1	2–0–0	Ambrose Urbanic Field (657) Pittsburgh, PA
August 24* 7:00 p.m., BoxCast	No. 21	at Kent State	W 1–0	3–0–0	Zoeller Field (498) Kent, OH
August 27* 1:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 21	Bucknell	W 5–0	4–0–0	Ambrose Urbanic Field (786) Pittsburgh, PA
August 31* 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 21	Duquesne	W 6–1	5–0–0	Ambrose Urbanic Field (939) Pittsburgh, PA
September 3* 4:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 21	Bowling Green	W 5–1	6–0–0	Ambrose Urbanic Field (733) Pittsburgh, PA
September 7* 7:00 p.m., FloFC	No. 22	at No. 21 Xavier	L 1–2	6–1–0	Corcoran Field (726) Cincinnati, OH
September 10* 1:00 p.m., ESPN+	No. 22	at Cincinnati	W 2–1	7–1–0	Gettler Stadium (280) Cincinnati, OH
ACC Regular season
September 17 2:00 p.m., ACCNX		at NC State	W 2–0	8–1–0 (1–0–0)	Dail Soccer Field (331) Raleigh, NC
September 21 8:00 p.m., ACCN		at Louisville	L 2–3	8–2–0 (1–1–0)	Lynn Stadium (279) Louisville, KY
September 24 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		No. 10 Notre Dame	T 1–1	8–2–1 (1–1–1)	Ambrose Urbanic Field (973) Pittsburgh, PA
September 30 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		Boston College	W 2–0	9–2–1 (2–1–1)	Ambrose Urbanic Field (858) Pittsburgh, PA
October 5 7:00 p.m., ACCNX		No. 22 Duke	W 2–1	10–2–1 (3–1–1)	Ambrose Urbanic Field (958) Pittsburgh, PA
October 8 1:00 p.m., ACCNX		No. 17 Wake Forest	W 4–1	11–2–1 (4–1–1)	Ambrose Urbanic Field (545) Pittsburgh, PA
October 14 1:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 17	at Syracuse	W 6–0	12–2–1 (5–1–1)	SU Soccer Stadium (187) Syracuse, NY
October 19 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 18	at No. 1 Florida State	L 2–3	12–3–1 (5–2–1)	Seminole Soccer Complex (1,125) Tallahassee, FL
October 22 2:00 p.m., ACCN	No. 18	at No. 9 Clemson	L 0–1	12–4–1 (5–3–1)	Riggs Field (867) Clemson, SC
October 26 7:00 p.m., ACCNX	No. 20	Virginia Tech	W 2–1	13–4–1 (6–3–1)	Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,280) Pittsburgh, PA
ACC Tournament
October 29 8:00 p.m., ACCN	(5) No. 20	at (4) No. 3 North Carolina First Round	W 2–1 2OT	14–4–1	Dorrance Field (1,174) Chapel Hill, NC
November 2 8:00 p.m., ACCN	(5) No. 11	vs. (1) No. 1 Florida State Semifinal	L 0–2	14–5–1	Sahlen's Stadium (678) Cary, NC
NCAA Tournament
November 11 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(7) No. 11	Ohio State First Round	W 6–0	15–5–1	Ambrose Urbanic Field (1,309) Pittsburgh, PA
November 17 7:30 p.m., ESPN+	(7) No. 11	at (2) No. 10 Arkansas Second Round	W 4–3	16–5–1	Razorback Field (2,215) Fayetteville, AR
November 19 7:00 p.m., ESPN+	(7) No. 11	at (6) No. 8 Memphis Round of 16	W 3–0	17–5–1	Razorback Field (719) Fayetteville, AR
November 24 5:30 p.m., ESPN+	(7) No. 11	at (1) No. 1 Florida State Quarterfinals	L 0–3	17–6–1	Seminole Soccer Complex (2,000) Tallahassee, FL
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from United Soccer Coaches. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Eastern.

Recipient	Award	Date	Ref.
Amanda West	Preseason All-ACC Team	August 10	[17]
Sarah Schupansky	ACC Offensive Player of the Week	August 29	[18]
Sarah Schupanksy	All-ACC First Team	November 1	[19]
Amanda West	All-ACC Second Team
Deborah Abiodun	All-ACC Third Team
Landy Mertz
Samiah Phiri
Amanda West	All-ACC Tournament Team	November 5	[20]
Landy Mertz

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

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

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.^[23][24]

Player	Team	Round	Pick #	Position
Amanda West	Houston Dash	3	36	FW
Landy Mertz	North Carolina Courage	4	52	FW