Amanda West named ACC Offensive Player of the Week

The Pitt women’s soccer team started its season with a successful trip to Oklahoma, during which it defeated Tulsa 3-0 and No. 16 Oklahoma State 3-2 in overtime. To the surprise of no one familiar with women’s college soccer, Amanda West had a hand in each of the victories. And for her efforts, the Panthers forward was named the ACC Offensive Player of the Week on Tuesday.

West got the season started by setting Pitt’s first scoring play of the season into motion during the win over Tulsa, and as a result, she was credited with an assist on Ellie Coffield’s first career goal. She would follow that up with a rocket of a goal on a free kick, and that would put Pitt up 2-0 en route to a 3-0 win.

Against No. 16 Oklahoma State, West would score again, as Landy Mertz found her with a cross into the box, which she headed past Oklahoma State goalkeeper Evie Vitali to tie the game up at 2-2. Thanks in part to West, Pitt would upend Oklahoma State, beating a ranked team for the first time since Oct. 19, 2008.

West entered the season as the ACC’s top returning scorer, with 13 goals in the 2020-21 season. That ranked fifth in the nation and second only to former Tar Heel and current pro Brianna Pinto in the ACC. And with her first goal of the 2021 season, West became Pitt’s leader in career goals, with 24 in 35 games.

At this point, West has 25 career goals and 67 career points, both of which are Pitt records, and given her tendency to kick off seasons with multigame scoring streaks, she may add to those totals soon. And if West continues to build on her success, this week’s ACC honors could just be the first of many accolades to come in the Pitt star's junior season.