PITTSBURGH, Pa. -- The Portland Pilots came up just short against the Pitt Panthers in a rugged 1-0 match in Pittsburgh. Portland finishes the year at 15-3-3 following the loss and is eliminated from the NCAA Tournament.
How it Happened
Portland kept Pittsburgh scoreless for all of regulation play before giving up the game-winner Valentin Noel in the 104th minute. George Tasouris led Portland with 10 saves, the most by a keeper since Austin Guerro in 2010. The Pilots recorded eight shots in the loss, two of them on goal. Portland faced 32 Pittsburgh shots, 11 of them on goal.
Game Notes
- The Pilots still finish the year with their highest win total since 1995 and their best winning percentage (.786) since that same year.
- Tasouris collected 10 saves for the Pilots out of 32 total Panther shots, the most of any Pilot since 2010.
- The Pilots advanced to the Elite Eight of the tournament for the first time since 1995.
- Portland's 51 goals were the most since 1995 and also marked the 10th time in program history the Pilots have scored at least 50 goals in a season.
- The Pilots also finished the year undefeated at home, winning 11 games. That ties 1989 for the most home wins in a full season and also breaks the record for best home winning percentage at .958.
Head Coach Nick Carlin-Voigt on the Match
"My overall feeling is one of gratitude for this group of players who made this year historic in so many ways. I'm thankful to our five-year seniors Jake Arteaga and Greg Tracey who started this journey on The Bluff in 2018 with me, buying into a vision that we could return this program to the nation's elite. To the seniors we added post-COVID in Gurman Sangha and CJ Tibbling -- thanks for leaving the program better than you found it and your growth and development this year helped us have the year we earned. To our captain George Tasouris -- you displayed once again why I believe you are the best college goalkeeper in the country, but more importantly, an incredibly dedicated and passionate leader who grew and never stopping improving since stepping foot on campus as a graduate student.
Our guys fought hard tonight and you could tell we weren't at our best the first half. But we stuck around, never made excuses and never stopped fighting while creating chances to win the game. In OT we had a few chances to score and leave 1-0 winners, but it wasn't meant to be. Thank you to our fans who supported this group so well. Our vision was to unlock our full potential as a team and unite a community behind this group. This process was so much fun to see grow each and every day as we became a real team united in purpose. We created a team that could beat anyone in the country on the day and proved that all year long. We wish Pitt the best in the College Cup even though we are disappointed our quest for our first national championship ended a week earlier than we hoped."
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