Jacquesson dominates as Pitt cruises past NIU in NCAA second round
Adversity is not something that Pitt men’s soccer had to overcome much of in last year’s postseason run. The Panthers played 348 minutes of NCAA tournament soccer before facing its first deficit - a late game-winning Indiana goal that vanquished Pitt’s title hopes in the semifinal.
This year, it took less than five minutes.
Pitt bounced back powerfully from an early Huskies goal in Sunday’s NCAA second round match at Ambrose Urbanic Field, defeating Northern Illinois 5-2 with a much-needed offensive burst.
“It was just showing our true colors,” Vidovich said. “Getting into the goal, finishing our chances. The way we got our goals I thought was just tremendous soccer.”
Bertin Jacquesson may have earned the most obvious man-of-the-match accolade in Pitt history on Sunday. Last season’s freshman of the year was quite literally everywhere on the pitch, scoring a goal and delivering three beautiful assists in the Panthers win.
With the Panthers’ leading goal-scorer Rodrigo Almeida out for a third straight game, Jacquesson’s flawless offensive performance came at the perfect time. Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich said Almeida was available for the game, but decided to hold him out because of the rainy conditions and last-minute change of his status.
Northern Illinois struck quickly, as senior Anthony Markanich skied for a fifth-minute header in front of a shocked Panther crowd. But the Huskies didn’t have much time to celebrate. Pitt freshman Guilherme Feitosa tapped in a rebound off of a Jacquesson shot to even the match at one, 31 seconds after play resumed.
The Huskies’ lead had vanished, and they wouldn’t get it back. Jacquesson launched a rocket into the top right corner to give Pitt a 2-1 edge in the 30th minute. The Panthers added one more before halftime, as graduate captain Jackson Walti notched just the fourth goal of his career with 40 seconds left on the clock.
Like the start of the match, sloppy defensive play from Pitt gave the Huskies a goal less than two minutes into the second half. Pitt midfielder Valentin Noel said those scores “must never happen again.”
But once again, the Panthers answered right away. Shortly after the Huskies pulled within one, Niort, France native Noel scored his seventh goal of the season, volleying a perfect pass from fellow Frenchman Jacquesson.
“I didn’t have much to do,” Noel said. “I basically just give the credit to Bertin. His crosses are insane.”
Jacquesson’s second assist of the night put Pitt up 4-2, but he hadn’t wrapped up his show just yet. The sophomore put the ball on a string for a meticulous through ball to forward Alexander Dexter, who finished with ease for the final point of the night.
“I’m really happy for [Jacquesson],” Noel said. “During a season, you have your ups and downs. I’m really happy for him because he’s been struggling sometimes. To seem him perform in that way, it just makes me happy.”
When the selection committee released this year’s NCAA Tournament bracket, Pitt fans licked their chops at the possibility of a third-round matchup with in-state rival Penn State. But Hofstra put an end to that dream, obliterating the Nittany Lions 8-2 in Happy Valley on Sunday.
The Panthers will host the Pride next Saturday or Sunday in the Round of 16.