Pirates Earn Paramount Draw with No. 5 Virginia, 1-1

Sunday, September 17

Greenville, N.C.

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

5-2-2

Virginia

5-2-2

OT 3

OT 4

Virginia

ECU

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

September 17, 2017 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Box Score (PDF) / Photo Gallery

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The ECU women's soccer team's best start in program history continued Sunday afternoon when the Pirates earned a 1-1 double overtime draw with No. 5 Virginia. ECU remains undefeated at Johnson Stadium this season with a 3-0-2 home slate.

Taylor Ziemer gave Virginia a 1-0 lead in the 36th minute when she scored on a cross from Veronica Latsko. The Cavaliers held a 4-2 advantage in shots and 5-0 in corner kicks in the first half.

ECU capitalized on a momentum shift in the final 10 minutes of regulation. The Pirates' Marianna Shurina took an opportunity deep into the right corner with the numbers in ECU's favor. Shurina crossed the ball into the box and found Courtney Cash who went left-to-right on her shot tying the match 1-1 in the 84th minute.

The overtime periods were a back-and-forth battle with UVA edging ECU 3-2 in shots. Michelle Newhouse made a pair of saves in the second overtime frame securing the Pirates' first tie with a nationally-ranked opponent since 2011.

Team Records
ECU (5-2-2), No. 5 Virginia (5-2-2)

Scoring Summary
35:20 – UVA Goal: Taylor Ziemer (Veronica Latsko) [ECU 0, UVA 0]
83:29 – ECU Goal: Courtney Cash (Marianna Shurina) [ECU 1, UVA 1]

Donnenwirth's Thoughts
"We obviously played with so much heart and even at times, when we knew they were going to have some possession against us, we were able to change that momentum throughout the game. I thought the first part we were really, really good. I met with the team, we showed them two different ways to defend and I said you guys chose, they chose the more aggressive one. And so they bought into that from the beginning. We knew what we wanted to do. I thought we were doing it really well in the beginning and then they started really knocking the ball around and wearing us down. We had to find something deep down to try and come back in that game and Cash's goal was great. I am looking at it and even with all the possession they had and with nine shots on goal, I can't find any clear cut great opportunities for them. I just thought we defended them fantastically. And it wasn't just our backs who were great, but everyone was blocking shots and was committed. I am just really happy for them."

News and Notes

The Pirates improve to 5-2-2 overall as they continue their best start in program history
ECU remains undefeated at home in 2017 posting a 3-0-2 record at Johnson Stadium
Cash's fifth goal of the season ties her goals total from 2016
Newhouse improves to 4-2-2 in goal for the Pirates with a 0.71 goals against average and tallied a career-high eight saves against the Cavaliers
The Pirates earned their first draw with a top-5 opponent in program history and first tie with a nationally-ranked opponent since a 2-2 result with William & Mary on Sept. 11, 2011

Up Next
ECU continues its four-match home stand when the Pirates open American Athletic Conference play Thursday, Sept. 21 against USF. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. at Johnson Stadium.