This afternoon, the ACC men’s soccer tournament Quarterfinals kick off, and there will be some guaranteed history made in what has been an exciting start to the 2025 conference championship. Three underdogs won in the First Round, and more will be looking to make noise as everyone is now just one win away from a trip to Cary, North Carolina for the Semifinals.
Here is a snapshot preview of the four quarterfinal matchups this afternoon:
#13 Pittsburgh at #12 California
Pittsburgh is unbeaten in five straight games and has only allowed three goals during that run. A name to watch for Pitt in this matchup is midfielder Arnau Vilamitjana, who had a hat-trick against Syracuse on 10/18, and currently leads the team in goal contributions (8g/3a).
California is coming off back-to-back shutouts against top teams in the ACC. First, they stunned Stanford 1-0, spoiling their regular-season championship chance, and then they beat Duke 2-0 in the First Round on Wednesday. The Bears’ forward Luka Lukic scored against the Blue Devils and will be one to watch as he leads Cal in goals with eight.
The winner of this matchup will be the lowest seed to advance to the ACC Men’s Soccer Semifinal in history.
#9 North Carolina at #1 Virginia
The Tar Heels didn’t come into the ACC tournament in great form losing three of their last four, but they put on a good show against Notre Dame in Round 1 winning 3-1. Luca Nikolai is a name to watch from UNC as he is a defender who is also capable of getting forward with nine goal contributions (3g/6a) on the season. He also leads the team in shots.
Virginia won the ACC Regular Season Title on the last day of action, and they will be looking to continue that momentum into the playoffs. They are currently on a 12-game unbeaten streak and have won three in a row. A Cavaliers player to watch is Nicholas Simmonds. Their freshman forward has been involved in all five of Virginia’s goals in their last two games (3g/2a).
#6 Syracuse at #3 NC State
Syracuse and NC State played each other just over a week ago, ending in a 1-1 draw on the final night of the regular season. The Orange was able to withstand 18 shots from the Wolfpack and found a late equalizer from Sachiel Ming after NC State’s Drew Lovelace put home a penalty kick.
Carlos Zambrano, Syracuse’s midfielder, is their leading goal contributor (4g/3a) and has his work cut out for him against NC State’s top defense, which has the lowest goals against average in the country (.235). NC State’s goalkeeper Logan Erb is one of the key players to watch on the Wolfpack’s defense.
#7 SMU at #2 Stanford
SMU was in a wild back-and-forth 5-4 attacking showdown in Round 1 against Wake Forest. It matched the highest-scoring ACC Men’s Soccer Tournament game in history. Midfielder Charles-Emile Brunet had three assists in the game for the Mustangs and will be a player to watch in this contest.
Stanford led the ACC up until their final game of the regular season when they lost to Cal 1-0. They went down two goals against Boston College but responded with four unanswered to get to the Quarterfinals. Trevor Islam leads the Cardinals with nine goal contributions (6g/3a) and could be a key piece to Stanford advancing to Semifinals.
