Panthers Get 2017 Season Underway, Host Hofstra

Friday, August 18

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7:00 PM

Pitt

Hofstra

Panthers Get 2017 Season Underway, Host Hofstra

8/17/2017 3:08:00 PM | Women's Soccer

2017 Schedule

Pitt Hosts the Pride Under the Lights in Season Opener

PITTSBURGH – The University of Pittsburgh women's soccer team will get the 2017 season underway Friday evening, hosting Hofstra in a non-conference matchup at Ambrose Urbanic Field.

The two teams will open up the 2017 NCAA season, as Pitt has taken part in a pair of exhibition contents, hosting Youngstown State and traveling to Ohio State.

PROMOTIONS
The first 250 fans will receive a free 2017 women's soccer schedule cup. All fans will receive a voucher upon entry to the game, the first five to return it to the marketing table at the men's soccer game on Saturday, Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. will receive free men's soccer season tickets.

HOW TO FOLLOW

The game can be seen live on ACC Network Extra via WatchESPN or the WatchESPN app
Live stats will be available here
Fans can follow @Pitt_WSOC on Twitter and Instagram for live in-game updates.

THE MATCH
The Panthers get the 20017 regular season underway Friday, as Pitt hosts Hofstra in a 7 p.m. meeting at Abrose Urbanic Field at the Petersen Sports Complex. The game will be the first of eight non-conference battles for Pitt as the Panthers won't open ACC play until Sept. 15.

SCOUTING HOFSTRA
The Pride are coming off a 10-7-1 season in which they finished in a tie for sixth in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA), going 4-5 in conference action. They did not qualify for the CAA tournament, however, losing the tiebreaker to College of Charleston. The 2016 season was Hofstra's 10th-straight season of double-digit wins under current head coach Simon Riddiough.

Hofstra graduated last season's leading point getter and All-CAA first-team selection Jill Mulholland, who finished the season with 13 goals and eight assists for a total of 34 points. Hofstra also graduated All-CAA second-team selection Emily Agudelo, who was an anchor on defense for the team. Among notable returners are senior Kristin Desmond, who was an All-CAA third-team honoree, finishing the season with six goals and 14 points, and senior Kelly Gerdes, who was named to the All-Rookie Team for the conference last season.

In the CAA Preseason Poll, Hofstra was picked to finish fifth in the conference, gathering 48 total points. Junior defenseman Madeline Anderson was the lone player from Hofstra named to the Preseason All-CAA Women's Soccer Team.

THE SERIES
This will be just the second meeting between the two teams in series dating back to the 2003 season. in that lone meeting, Hofstra earned a 2-0 victory over the Panthers on its home field.

RETURNING TALENT
Pitt's 2017 squad gets a boost, as both Ashley Moreira and Taylor Pryce will return to the starting lineups, after missing the 2016 season. Both members of the U-20 Canadian National Team, the duo will look to bolster a squad that struggled to find the back of the next last year. Pryce tallied six goals, two of which were game winners, in 2015, adding four in 2014. Moreira, a midfielder, scored once, adding two assists in 2015; additionally, she recorded three helpers in her freshman campaign in 2014.

Two of the team's top-three leaders in minutes played will return from the 2016 season, with Alli Higgs (1581) and Sarah Krause (1479) set to lace up with the starting squad.

FRESH FACES
The 2017 team will debut some fresh faces, led by redshirt freshman goalkeeper Katelyn McEachern, the first new keeper since the 2014 season, as 2016 alum Taylor Francis had held down the position for 50 consecutive matches. As a whole, the Panthers welcome nine new faces with freshmen Alexis Bengel, Kendall Higgs, Juelle Love, Vildan Kardesler, Jess McCoppin, Shana Hardin, Aideen O'Donoghue and Kylie Olexa; and transfer Megan Herr.

MEET YOUR CAPTAINS
A trio of Canadians will lead the way for the 2017 Pitt women's soccer season, as redshirt junior Taylor Pryce and seniors Ashley Moreira and Emma Pozzulo will captain the squad. Both Pryce and Moreira will serve as first-year captains, while Pozzulo gets her third season as a captain underway.

THE SCHEDULE
The regular season will get underway at the Petersen Sports Complex on Aug. 18 as the Panthers welcome Hofstra, before taking to the road for three-straight away battles with Duquesne (Aug. 20), Cincinnati (Aug. 24) and Xavier (Aug. 27). The Panthers will close out the month on Aug. 30, welcoming Detroit.

Illinois State visits Sept. 3, as Pitt will travel to Kent State (Sept. 7) and Nebraska (Sept. 10) before ACC play gets underway. A Sept. 15 visit to Wake Forest gets league play going, as Pitt will host Virginia Tech (Sept. 21) and travel to Duke (Sept. 24) to wrap up September action.

Three consecutive home games follow as the Panthers host perennial powerhouse Virginia (Oct. 1), followed by Syracuse (Oct. 5) and NC State (Oct. 8). A trip to Louisville (Oct. 13) will follow, with visits to Miami (Oct. 19) and Florida State (Oct. 22) wrapping up regular season road play. The 2017 regular season will come to a close on Oct. 26 when the Panthers host Boston College.

UP NEXT
Pitt will travel down the street Sunday, taking on Duquesne in a clash between two Pittsburgh schools. The match is set to get underway at 12:30 p.m. Pitt will then head to Cincinnati for games against Cincinnati (Aug. 24) and Xavier (Aug. 27).

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