2008 PITT MEN’S SOCCER SCHEDULE Day, Date Opponent Site Time Monday, Aug. 18 CALIFORNIA (Pa.) (Scrimmage) Founders Field 11 a.m. Wed., Aug. 20 MOUNT ST. MARY’S Founders Field 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 23 at Penn State (Scrimmage) State College, Pa. 7 p.m. ROBERT MORRIS UNIVERSITY TOURNAMENT Friday, Aug. 29 vs. Albany Moon Twp., Pa. 2:30 p.m. Matt Baker E.J. McCormick Sunday, Aug. 31 vs. Rider Moon Twp., Pa. Noon Thursday, Sept. 4 at Duquesne Pittsburgh, Pa. 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7 ROBERT MORRIS Founders Field 3:30 p.m. PITT INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT Friday, Sept. 12 Robert Morris vs. Western Michigan Founders Field 5 p.m. Pitt vs. Bryant University Founders Field 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 14 Robert Morris vs. Bryant University Founders Field Noon Pitt vs. Western Michigan Founders Field 2:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 *RUTGERS Founders Field 7 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 21 *VILLANOVA Founders Field 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 26 at *South Florida Tampa, Fla. 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 28 at *DePaul Chicago, Ill. 1 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 5 *MARQUETTE Founders Field 1 p.m. Wed., Oct. 8 at *West Virginia Morgantown, W.V. 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 11 at *Notre Dame South Bend, Ind. 7 p.m. Orane Gordon Samuli Ahola Saturday, Oct. 18 *GEORGETOWN Founders Field 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 25 at *Seton Hall South Orange, N.J. 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 28 *CONNECTICUT Founders Field 7 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 1 at *Providence Providence, R.I. 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 3 Big East Rain Date Wednesay, Nov. 5 Big East Tournament First Round campus sites TBA Thursday, Nov. 6 Big East Tournament First Round campus sites TBA Saturday, Nov. 8 Big East Tournament Quarterfinals Tampa, Fla. TBA Sunday, Nov. 9 Big East Championship Tampa, Fla. TBA *denotes Big East Conference games Caps and bold denotes home games All times are Eastern. All home games played at Founders Field, Indianola, Pa. Directions to the field can be obtained on Jordan Marks Mike McDade www.pittsburghpanthers.com (click on travel). Matt Firster Eric Jaeger “Our players and coaches are expected to work hard, be trustworthy, accept responsibility and be totally committed to the team and program. We treat our players as men and they are expected to act as such. My goal for everyone involved in our program is to be successful and at the same time, cherish the experience. On a personal level, I enjoy working with the players, I enjoy the competition and I take pride in representing Pitt.” The PITT Experience –PITT men’s soccer coach, Joe Luxbacher 2008 PITT SOCCER TABLE OF CONTENTS MEDIA INFORMATION QUICK FACTS Media Information ............................................ 1 PRESS SERVICES GENERAL INFORMATION 2008 Quick Facts ............................................ 1 Members of the media are supplied with weekly School: University of Pittsburgh 2008 Season Outlook .................................. 2-3 updates containing statistics, game summaries Location: Pittsburgh, PA 15261 Head Coach Joe Luxbacher ...................... 4-5 and information regarding upcoming events. On Founded: 1787 Coaching/Support Staff ............................... 6-7 game day, the media relations staff will distribute Enrollment: 33,574 2008 Roster ..................................................... 8 game programs, team and individual statistics Nickname: Panthers 2008 Player Profiles .................................. 9-18 and all postgame information. Colors: Blue and Gold 2008 Opponents ............................................ 19 Home Field: Founders Field 2007 Final Statistics ...................................... 20 MEDIA RELATIONS DEPARTMENT (Indianola, Pa.) 2007 Results .................................................. 21 Located on the Petersen Events Center’s Affiliation: NCAA Division I Scoring Records ........................................... 22 Event Level: Conference: BIG EAST Goalkeeping Records ................................... 23 Men’s Soccer SID: TBA Chancellor: Mark A. Nordenberg Team Records ............................................... 24 Office Number: (412) 648-8240 Alma Mater: Thiel College '70 Miscellaneous Records ................................ 25 Cell Number: TBA Athletic Director: Jeff Long Annual Team Leaders ................................... 26 Fax Number: (412) 648-8248 Alma Mater: Ohio Wesleyan ‘82 Big East Honors and Awards ................. 27-28 Mailing Address: Athletic Phone: (412) 648-8230 All-Time Coaching Records .......................... 29 P.O. Box 7436, Pittsburgh, PA 15213 Soccer History ............................................... 30 Overnight Address: MEN’S SOCCER HISTORY Panthers in the Pros ...................................... 31 Petersen Events Center, 3719 Terrace Street, First Year of Soccer: 1954 Pitt’s All-America Selections ......................... 32 Pittsburgh, PA 15261 All-Time Record: 358-358-75 Pitt’s Most Valuable Players ......................... 33 Web Address: www.pittsburghpanthers.com Last postseason opponent: St. John’s All-Time Lettermen .................................. 34-35 (10/25/06) Year-by-Year Results ............................. 36-39 INTERVIEW POLICY Result: L, 1-0 (Big East Quarterfinals) Results vs. 2007 Opponents ........................ 40 If a media member wishes to interview or photograph a Pittsburgh men’s soccer player or COACHING STAFF coach, please contact the Media Relations De- Head Coach: Joe Luxbacher MEDIA OUTLETS partment in advance. Every attempt will be made Alma Mater: Pittsburgh ‘74 to fulfill the request as efficiently and as quickly Record at School (Yrs.): 186-186- Associated Press as possible. 47 (24) 6 Gateway Center, Suite 222, Pittsburgh, PA Interviews with student-athletes will be set up Overall Record (Yrs.): 210-198-51 15222. (412) 281-3747. Fax: (412) 281-1869. only by the Media Relations Office. Please allow (27) Assistant Coaches: (Alan Robinson, sports editor). at least one day's notice or more. Student- Brian Retzloff Athletes' telephone numbers will not be released (Washington & Jefferson, ‘95) Volunteer Assistant: Beaver County Times to the media. Interviews with any of the coaches Mike Bacasa (Pittsburgh, ‘93) 400 Fair Avenue, Beaver, PA 15009. (724) 775- can be arranged by contacting them directly. Soccer Phone: (412) 648-8217 3200. Fax: (724) 728-0190. (Ed Rose, sports Coaches' office numbers are listed in the athlet- editor). ics department directory in the back portion of 2007 REVIEW this guide. Pitt TV (University of Pittsburgh Campus Overall Record: 3-13-2 Sports Station) Big East Record (Finish): 1-9-1: 502 William Pitt Union, 3959 Fifth Ave., Pitts- CREDITS 7th Blue Division burgh, PA 15213. (412) 401-5994. 2008 TEAM INFORMATION Editor: Sean Carney, Greg Hotchkiss The Pitt News Letterwinners Ret./Lost: 11/5 Contributing Editors: E.J. Borghetti, Mendy 434 William Pitt Union, Pittsburgh, PA 15260. (412) Starters Returning/Lost: 8/3 Nestor, Sophia Duck, Celeste Welsh 648-7980. Fax: (412) 648-8491. (Geoff Dutele, Photography: Jason Blair, Mike Drazdzinski, sports editor). Top Offensive Returnees: Michelle Ray, Patricia Nagle, C.W. Pack, GP SOG G A Pt. GW JUST SPORTS, Eric Whiteman, Joe Pittsburgh Post-Gazette E. McCormick 18 11 4 1 9 0 Kapelewski, Sean Brady. 34 Boulevard of the Allies, Pittsburgh, PA 15222. M. Langton 15 8 2 2 6 0 Printing: Raff Printing (412) 263-1621. Fax: (412) 263-1926. (Jerry M.Baker 18 15 2 1 5 1 Cover Design: Raff Printing Micco, asst. managing editor sports, Paul Zeise J. Boehm 10 4 2 0 4 1 and Ray Fittipaldo, beat writers). Top Returning Goalkeepers: Pittsburgh Tribune-Review GP S GA Avg. ShO J. Marks 12 62 23 1.96 0 D.L. Clark Building, 503 Martindale Street, Third E. Barnes 8 37 15 2.02 0 Floor, Pittsburgh, PA 15212. (412) 321-6460. Fax: (412) 320-7964. (Kevin Smith, sports editor, ATHLETIC MEDIA RELATIONS Kevin Gorman and John Grupp, beat writers). Soccer Contact: TBA Cell Phone: TBA Office Phone: (412) 648-8240 E-mail: TBA Fax: (412) 648-8248 2008 Pitt Men’s Soccer 1 2008 SEASON OUTLOOK Pitt returns eight starters to 2008 men’s soccer team The 2007 Pitt men’s soccer season was characterized by close games and oppor- tunities lost as the youthful Panthers struggled through growing pains en route to a 3-13-2 record. But Pitt enters the 2008 season with high expectations. It hopes to improve on its performance and use some of the lessons learned from last year’s struggles to be more successful. “Last year, we had some difficult losses where we were in a position to win and didn’t,” Pitt head men’s soccer coach Joe Luxbacher said. “The majority of those games could have gone either way.” Of Pitt’s 18 games last year, 15 were decided by two goals or less. Additionally, Pitt played in a total of six overtime games, including four that reached double over- time. Pitt is hoping to use last year’s sea- son-ending 2-1 double-overtime victory at Marquette as a springboard into the com- ing season. Matt Baker returns for his third season. He Senior forward E.J. McCormick is back after “Marquette was an outstanding way to has five goals and four assists in his career. leading Pitt in scoring last year with four goals. end our season.” Luxbacher said. “It’s al- ways good to close the year out with a win. The still young Panthers team added six Hopefully that experience will carry over new players which will improve team depth MIDFIELD into our upcoming season.” and provide competition for playing time. Pitt’s main goal heading into the 2008 “There are some walk-ons from last The midfield may have lost Matt campaign is to advance to the Big East tour- spring who could see time, and some fresh- Langton, who is now playing with the Pitts- nament and post a winning record. Advanc- man who could push for some minutes,” burgh Riverhounds, but Luxbacher is con- ing to the Big East Tournament would be according to Luxbacher. fident in the returning group. an outstanding accomplishment for the “Matt Langton was the key to the midfield squad. The Panthers must also focus on FORWARDS last season, but we have a good group of improving its defense. returning players,” Luxbacher said. “I don’t “One of our team objectives is to tighten Pitt returns all of its forwards from a year see it as an issue.