Published Nov 11, 2021
Notre Dame knocks off Pitt 2-0 in ACC Semifinal
Alex Lehmbeck
Panther-Lair.com staff

Pitt’s quest for its first ACC soccer championship was snapped with a 2-0 loss to Notre Dame on Wednesday in the ACC Tournament semifinals, as well as its 19-match home winning streak.

Vegas doesn’t have a habit of setting lines for college soccer games, and it’s tough to estimate who entered Wednesday’s match as the favorite. Notre Dame escaped with a double overtime win for the programs’ regular season meeting in South Bend, Indiana, but Pitt has been a completely different team at Ambrose Urbanic Field. While the Panthers stumbled to a 2-4-1 record on the road this season, they entered Wednesday’s a perfect 9-0 at home.

Pitt dominated possession in the first half, but couldn’t find any real scoring opportunities. A highly reputable Notre Dame defense provided a tight wall all night, preventing the Panthers from getting any clear looks at the goal. Notre Dame racked up many more shots on goal, with its best opportunity coming in the 25th minute.

Irish forward Jack Lynn found himself past the Panthers defense, and Pitt goalkeeper Nico Campuzano surged forward as the last obstacle between Lynn and the goal. But at the last moment, Pitt defender Arturo Ordonez slid in front of Lynn to reject the shot.

The two teams headed into their locker rooms in a scoreless draw at halftime. Pitt head coach Jay Vidovich called Pitt’s performance “pretty good,” but told ACC Network his team needed to improve its finishing in the second half.

But the Notre Dame defense - which hadn’t given up a second half goal in its last eight games - continued to stifle the Panthers high-volume offense for the last 45 minutes. The Irish just needed one goal to vanquish Pitt, but they got two in a matter of seconds.

Lynn got his revenge on Ordonez in the 76th minute. The Irish star got another breakaway opportunity, and once again the Pitt defender slid in front of him as he got the shot off. This time though, the ball deflected off Ordonez’s leg and rolled past Campuzano for the first goal of the night.

By the time the Panthers figured out what had hit them, Notre Dame added another to the scoreboard. Sophomore forward Daniel Russo slipped past Pitt on an immediate counter attack, and the Panther defense could only hope for an offsides call as it watched another ball hit the back of the net. Notre Dame suddenly held a 2-goal lead, and only 14 seconds had come off the clock since Lynn’s score.

The Panthers nearly went down by three goals, as Notre Dame hit the crossbar on a header attempt a few minutes later. Pitt got a close-range free kick chance late in the match, but in a perfect summary of the Panthers’ offense that night, Raphael Crivello’s shot sailed miles above the target.

The 2-0 loss marked the first time a team has shut out Pitt at Ambrose Urbanic Field since Wake Forest did it on Sep. 13, 2019. The Panthers must now wait until the NCAA Tournament selection show on Monday to find out their next opponent and seeding.