Edward Kizza, Arturo Ordoñez get ACC All-Tournament nods

The Pitt men’s soccer team recently made it to the third round of the 2019 ACC tournament before getting knocked out by Clemson, which was the top-ranked team in the nation at the time. But it appears the Panthers made an impression, as Pitt forward Edward Kizza and Pitt defender Arturo Ordoñez were named to the ACC All-Tournament Team on Sunday.

Kizza and Ordoñez are the first Pitt players to be honored by the ACC for their performance in the tournament, and the recognition from the conference comes on the heels of the team’s second tournament appearance.

For Kizza, who has been a transformative force for the Panthers since his arrival in 2017, the award caps off an impressive regular season in which he recorded nine goals and four assists and earned first-team All-ACC honors. In the tournament, the Ugandan forward tallied two more goals, powering Pitt past NC State in the second round with a a 2-1 victory.

Ordoñez has been a key figure in Pitt’s defense this season, and he was recently honored as a member of the ACC’s all-freshman team. Like Kizza, he also came up with a game-changing performance in the tournament, as he made a defensive stop when Pitt goalkeeper Arie Ammann was out of place in Pitt’s matchup with Clemson, preventing a goal.

Pitt was one of just four schools to place players on the team, with the other three being Clemson, Wake Forest and Virginia. Kizza, Ordoñez and the Panthers will hope to join ACC tournament champions Virginia in the NCAA tournament, and a decision on their future will be announced Monday.