Lady Pirates Soccer Preparing For Postseason Run
October 23, 2003 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- With three games remaining in the East Carolina women's soccer season, the Pirates (6-5-5, 2-2-3) find themselves in a must-win situation to qualify for the Conference USA Tournament, which will be held in Charlotte, N.C., Nov. 5-8.
Currently the Pirates are sitting in eighth place out of 14 teams, with the top eight moving on to postseason play. The remaining schedule consists of road games to Louisville and Cincinnati, before heading home to host Charlotte in the regular season finale.
ECU along with Charlotte (2-4-1 in C-USA, ninth) and Cincinnati (2-5-0, 11th) are all battling for the eighth spot, with Louisville (1-5-1) holding on to a small glimmer of hope in 12th place. All four teams will be playing one another over the next two weeks, and this weekend's matches could determine the fate of the Lady Pirates.
"We control our own destiny," said ECU head coach Rob Donnenwirth. "The teams that still can get into the postseason, we are getting ready to play. This weekend is critical for us to take that next step and reach one of our goals."
Friday night, the Pirates take on the Cardinals, who are led by freshman forward Jamie Craft. On the season, Craft has recorded eight goals and three assists and leads a squad that is made up of 15 underclassman.
"Karen (Ferguson) has put together a young solid team this season," said Donnenwirth. "I think this is their best squad in a while. We will have to attack them, play a lot of good defense behind the ball, and defend against their counter attacks, to have a chance."
Cincinnati is lead by senior forward Tasha Wagner, who has six goals and five assists this year. As the defending tournament champions, Donnenwirth doesn't underestimate the Bearcats' chances in claiming that eighth spot.
"Cincinnati will be a big challenge for us on Sunday," stated Donnenwirth. "We will be playing on field turf, which is something we are not use to. They are the tournament champions from last year and got a big win against DePaul on the road last week to keep them alive in the postseason race. We will have to play a great game defensively and limit their attacks to put ourselves in a position to win."
The Lady Pirates will return home Oct. 31, to face in-state rival Charlotte on senior day at 2 p.m.
