Pitt stars Bertin Jacquesson and Filip Mirkovic earn spots on CSN All-Freshman team

The Pitt men’s soccer team wrapped up its most successful season to date a little less than a month ago, but the accolades are still rolling in for the players who made it possible. The two latest honorees are Bertin Jacquesson and Filip Mirkovic, who earned All-Freshman recognition from College Soccer News.

Jacquesson earned first-team honors from the outlet after making an instant impact at Pitt. The French forward logged one goal and one assist in his debut, a 3-1 win over Notre Dame on Sept. 26. He had a repeat performance in a 3-2 win over Syracuse on Oct. 6. Jacquesson then came up with an astounding three assists in a 4-2 victory over Virginia Tech on Oct. 10.

By the end of the season, Jacquesson would have four goals, seven assists and 15 points in a span of 18 games. His assist total ranked third on the team and ninth in the nation. And in addition to earning All-Freshman honors from College Soccer News, Jacquesson was placed on the All-ACC freshman team and was named the ACC Freshman of the Year.

Mirkovic was placed on the second team by College Soccer News. As a freshman, the Serbian midfielder had three goals and two assists, and his first goal was a game-winner against Louisville on Oct. 23. He also had a hand in a number of key plays despite a lack of credit on the stat sheet. In particular, Mirkovic set a play in motion that resulted in a game-winning goal against Washington, and he poked a ball away from a UCF defender in the box, setting up a scoring chance for Veljko Petkovic that would be converted for a game-winner.

All told, Mirkovic’s first season at Pitt was a greater success than his modest stats suggest, which is why he was honored with spots on the All-ACC freshman team and the NCAA All-Tournament team. And with both Mirkovic and Jacquesson set to return in 2021 along with many others, the future is bright for Pitt.