Syracuse begins its conference tournament title defense Wednesday, when the No. 7 Orange (10-3-3, 3-2-3 Atlantic Coast) host unranked Pittsburgh (2-12-3, 0-6-2) at 7 p.m. at SU Soccer Stadium. The Orange secured the No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament after tying Wake Forest, 1-1, Friday night. The Panthers, under first-year head coach Jay Vidovich, are seeded 12th out of 12 teams in the conference.

Here is everything you need to know about Pittsburgh ahead of the first-round tilt.

All-time series: This is the 21st meeting between the two schools. Both teams are 8-0-2.

Last time they played: Syracuse scored five goals in a span of 21:13 in a 5-0 win over the Panthers on Sept. 25, 2015. Noah Rhynhart kicked off the scoring in the 37th minute, before three Ben Polk goals and a Julian Buescher tally blew the game open. The Orange registered 16 corner kicks compared to Pitt’s one, and Syracuse outshot the Panthers, 19-2. SU advanced to 5-2-1 overall with the victory. The two sides didn’t play in the regular season this year.

The Pittsburgh report: The Panthers have only two players, Luca Mellor and Matt Venanzi, who have scored more than one goal. Only four others have scored, and Pitt ranks last in the conference in shots, goals and assists – by large margins. Pittsburgh has little offensive firepower, and a Syracuse team without its best defender (Miles Robinson is serving a one-game suspension for a red card) couldn’t be facing a more convenient opponent.

The Panthers’ defense isn’t much better, having tied for the third-most goals allowed in the ACC. On paper, Pittsburgh is the runt of the conference, but Syracuse head coach Ian McIntyre won’t put anything past a team led by the former Wake Forest head coach.

“They made a splash this year. They hired one of the all-time great ACC coaches in Jay,” McIntyre said. “They’ve got some pieces. We know they’re going to be organized and this will be a tough game for us. We’ve had real tough games with Pitt over the last few years and that’s without a change in leadership.”

How Syracuse beats Pittsburgh: The Orange needs to convert on one or two of its chances, which will likely come in quick succession. Chris Nanco should have no problem getting behind the Panthers’ back line and Sergio Camargo, Jonathan Hagman and Mo Adams should control the midfield with ease to allow Syracuse to dictate the tempo of the game however it pleases.

Stat to know:

10 – Pittsburgh has scored 10 goals this season, 12 fewer than any other team in the ACC

Player to watch: Luca Mellor, No. 5, midfielder

The 6-foot freshman has scored three goals this season and taken 12 more shots than anyone else on the team. He’s about as potent of an offensive threat the Panthers have, and he has a chance to get an opportunity or two on net without Robinson in the back for the Orange. Mellor has played in all 17 games and registered a team-high nine shots on goal.

Published on November 1, 2016 at 11:58 pm

Contact Matt: mcschnei@syr.edu | @matt_schneidman