Pitt women's soccer team off to best start in program history

As the coronavirus pandemic continued to alter the status quo, athletes spent much of their spring and summer wondering what would become of their seasons. Members of the Pitt women’s soccer team were no different.

Sophomore forward Amanda West called the wait “anxiety-inducing” — mostly because the Panthers were so eager to show how far they had come.

“Amanda and I are housemates, and I remember in the summer we would come home from practices and we would just feel like, ‘Oh my gosh! We want to play so bad!’ ” junior keeper Kat Robinson said. “ ‘This has to happen!’ ”

Added West: “This 2020 team is, in my opinion, the best in program history.”

The early results have given credence to her opinion. No. 14-ranked Pitt, under third-year coach Randy Waldrum, heads into Thursday’s ACC match at No. 10 Virginia riding the best start in its history: 6-0, including a win over Syracuse in its ACC opener.

Waldrum, who coached the Notre Dame women to a pair of national titles, said the Panthers are “probably ahead of schedule.”

With a few exceptions, Waldrum has done a near-complete personnel overhaul. After muddling through 2018 with a roster lacking his own recruits, Waldrum brought in 17 new players for 2019, and the results showed immediately.

Pitt won two ACC matches after winning one over the previous three seasons, tied two ACC foes and rallied from behind to force overtime in two other matches. West became the first player in program history to receive All-ACC honors (third team) and broke the Panthers’ single-season points record with 29 (10 goals, nine assists).

“When we got here, a lot of the kids were happy just to be an athlete, happy to wear the Pitt gear,” Waldrum said. “But I don’t think they had any idea what it took and what kind of commitment and the work you had to put in to be a top-tier student-athlete at the college level.

“Now, we have a group of players that wants to win, that loves to play, whose lives revolve around soccer and academics and their family and the important things.”

West has six goals, and Waldrum said she is a more complete player. Always adept at moving the ball and creating scoring opportunities in space, West has become more comfortable generating shots in tight areas.

As she has expanded her skill set, the pressure on her has lessened thanks to a better supporting cast.

Sophomore Leah Pais, a transfer who was America East Rookie of the Year at Albany last season, has three goals. Junior Anna Rico, slowed by injuries a season ago, has two, along with two assists. And sophomore Sarah Sinnott (Fox Chapel) has a goal and an assist after missing her freshman season with an injury.

The biggest difference on offense, Waldrum said, is a “more mobile and threatening midfield,” which features freshmen Chloe Minas and Emily Yaple and sophomore Anna Bout. Yaple and Bout have a goal each.

Defensively, Robinson (one goal allowed in 490 minutes) has shown the kind of play Waldrum expected when he took over the program.

“She has gotten better with her feet, which sounds strange to say because goalkeepers use their hands,” he said. “When we’re in possession of the ball, our goalkeepers have to be good with their feet if we need to play (the ball) back to them or through them.

“Shot-stopping has always been there.”

Robinson, meanwhile, is quick to credit the back line, anchored by junior Kate McKay and sophomore Mackenzie Edwards.

“They have been phenomenal, like a brick wall out there,” she said. “(McKay and Edwards) have a mentality like, ‘Nothing gets past us,’ and that gives me confidence in them and myself.”

Beating Syracuse in their ACC opener was a big boost. Robinson said she had some pregame apprehension — all those lopsided conference losses of the past gnawing at her subconscious — but Pitt dominated in winning 2-0.

“We came out so strong, and we looked exactly how we had practiced,” Robinson said. “So calm and composed, and I was really pleased to see that.”

The toughest tests of the season are still to come, and Waldrum acknowledged the team is far from a finished product. He keeps goals realistic but believes progress is such that he can talk about qualifying for the ACC Tournament for the first time and, possibly, the NCAA Tournament. If there is one.

That’s one more uncertainty brought on by the pandemic. Regardless, West said the Panthers plan to keep rolling.

“I do believe in the quality of our team and the quality of the players we have brought in,” she said, “and I am very impressed with the start that we’ve had, but I honestly didn’t expect anything less.

“If teams still think this is the same old Pitt … it’s an easy win, let them. Let them underestimate us.”