Program Record 11 Men’s Soccer Players Selected To All-ACC Academic Team

History Ties PITTSBURGH — After another successful campaign on the field, Pitt’s men’s soccer team added another record-breaking achievement to their resume as a program record 11 student-athletes earned a spot in the All-ACC Academic Team, as announced by the conference office Wednesday morning.

Four Panthers are recipients, including Jackson Walti (four-time honouree), Bertin Jacquesson (three-time honouree), Rodrigo Almeida (twice-honoured) and Guilherme Feitosa (twice-honoured). The seven Panthers awarded for the first time are Henrique Gallina, Jackson Gilman, Noah Hall, Mateo Maillefaud, Lucas Rosa, Luis Sahmkow and Michael Sullivan. The 11 honored players break the program’s previous record of eight set last season.

Since the 2016 season, Jay Vidovich’s first as Panthers head coach, 32 student-athletes have been selected to the All-ACC Academic Team, one of whom was named ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year (Noel – 2020).

Walti, a graduate student who earned a master’s degree in sustainable engineering, was one of two ACC players (Andreas Ueland – Virginia) to earn recognition for the fourth time in his career. The midfielder is one of the best leaders and teammates to ever wear the Pitt shirt. The St. Augustine, Florida native was also selected in the second round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by Austin FC alongside former teammate Valentin Noel.

The four-year-old captain enjoyed another excellent season in midfield for the Panthers as he started all 22 games and played all but 14 minutes as Pitt qualified for his second University Cup in three seasons. Walti earned All-ACC second-team honors for the third consecutive season by posting a career-high two goals and 15 shots for the Panthers. Known for his tenacious defense and leadership, Walti helped the Panthers get eight clean sheets while posting the lowest single-season goals against average for Pitt (1.02 GAA).

Jacquesson, an economics specialist, capped his historic career at Pitt by becoming the first Panther to sign a generation Adidas contract and then becoming the most drafted Panther in the program’s history, rising to No. 16 overall in the Real Salt Lake during the 2023 MLS SuperDraft.


The junior concluded his prolific career at Pitt with 19 goals, 23 assists and 61 points in 57 appearances. His 23 career assists are the second most in program history while his 61 career points rank seventh in program history. Known for his speed and agility, Jacquesson helped Pitt become one of the top programs in the nation during his career, as he helped the Panthers win their first two College Cup trips in program history. (2020, 2022).


Last season, Jacquesson battled some injuries to earn All-ACC second-team honors as he ranked second on the team with eight goals, five assists and 21 points on a team-best of 61 shots. He scored three game-winning goals, including the most memorable of his college career as he fired a shot into the top left corner against a man in the 78th minute of the NCAA Tournament game at No. 1 Kentucky.


Almeida recently obtained her master’s degree in information sciences. One of the winningest players in program history, the fifth-year player closed his final season playing 21 games while earning 13 starts in midfield. He posted three assists on 20 shots in 1,086 minutes.


For his career, Almeida posted nine goals, 12 assists and 30 points on 73 shooting while picking up three wins for the Panthers.


Making his second straight appearance for the team, Feitosa wrapped up his second campaign by appearing in 16 games and making three starts for Pitt. He finished the season with one goal, three assists and five points on 12 shots. He posted his best game of the season against nationally ranked Duquesne, picking up two assists in Pitt’s 5-2 win at home to the city rival.


Gallina, a graduate student majoring in management, concluded his first season as Panther as one of Pitt’s key backline members. The fifth-year player appeared in 19 games while earning 14 starts and played a total of 1,293 minutes as the Panthers qualified for their second University Cup in three seasons. He capped off his season with two assists while helping the Panthers to eight clean sheets and posting a record 1.05 goals-against-average.


First-year defenseman Jackson Gilman was recognized for the first time in his career after making an immediate impact on the Panthers’ backline. Gilman emerged as one of the best centre-backs in the country this season for the Panthers as he started all 22 games for Pitt as they won their second College Cup trip in the past three seasons. The solid defenseman has played all but 28 minutes for Pitt this season as he helped the Panthers get eight clean sheets while posting the lowest goals-against-average in program history this season (1.02 GAA) .


Not only was Gilman one of the best defenders in the country, but he also helped Pitt in the attacking third of the field on set pieces. The freshman provided three assists in his freshman college season, which tied him for fifth on the team in assists.


Hall was a great addition for the Panthers as the rookie appeared all over the field for Pitt in his first season. He appeared in 17 games and finished with one goal, one assist and three points. The dynamic player scored his first career goal, the eventual tying goal, in the Panthers’ 3-3 draw against No. 14 Akron. He then picked up his first career assist in Pitt’s ACC Tournament opener win over NC State.


Maillefaud was a pleasant surprise for the Panthers in his first season as he played 20 games and had 11 starts on Pitt’s backline. The talented player started the last 10 games of the season for Pitt as he helped lead the team to the College Cup with his solid play. He helped the Panthers to eight clean sheets and a program-best 1.05 goals-against average while adding a goal, a game-winning goal, in Pitt’s first win at North Carolina in the NHL. program history.


Rosa graduated this fall with a Masters in Business Administration. The talented defenseman was a mainstay of the Panthers defense throughout the season as he started 22 games and ranked second on the team with 1,996 minutes played. He concluded his first season playing for Pitt with two goals, six assists and 10 points on 25 shots from his right-back position. He posted the best game of his Pitt career in the home win over NC State as he scored a goal and an assist to go along with three shots while also scoring against nationally ranked rival Virginia- Western. He also had an assist on the game-winning goal in Pitt’s quarter-final national victory over Portland while helping the defense to eight shutouts and a 1.05 goals-against average on the year.


Sahmkow took another step in his development in second year for the Panthers by appearing in 15 games and earning six starts for Pitt. He capped his second campaign with four goals, three assists and 11 points on 11 shooting while scoring his first career game-winning goal in Pitt’s 1-0 victory over Virginia Tech. He scored in three consecutive games (Denver, Virginia Tech, Duquesne) for the first time in his career while scoring a goal in Pitt’s 3-0 road win in the NCAA Tournament over Akron. The best game of his young career was the win over nationally ranked rivals Duquesne as he scored a goal and assisted in the 5-2 victory.


Sullivan enjoyed a career year in his second season as a Panther as he played in 21 games and had 13 starts as a forward for Pitt. He capped off his second campaign with a career-high three goals, one assist and seven points on 18 shots. The talented forward scored two game-winning goals (NC State, Duquesne) while posting his first career multi-goal game as he finished the ACC Tournament victory over NC State with two goals on four shots. In the NCAA Tournament opener victory over Cleveland State, Sullivan notched the first assist of his career as Pitt took the 2-1 victory at home.


The academic requirements for selection to the All-ACC Academic Team are a 3.0 grade point average for the previous semester and a 3.0 GPA over one’s college career. In addition, student-athletes must participate in at least 50% of their team’s competitions.


The ACC Honor Roll, which recognizes all student-athletes in the conference with a 3.0 grade point average for the current academic year, will be released in July.