ECU Women's Soccer Team to Host ODU in Scrimmage
August 19, 2003 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The East Carolina women's soccer team looks to make final tune-ups as it prepares to host Old Dominion University in a exhibition game at Bunting Field on Wednesday Aug. 20 at 1 p.m.
The Pirates (11-6-4, 5-2-3 C-USA) are coming off a third-place Conference USA finish in the regular season and their second consecutive C-USA Tournament appearance. Head Coach Rob Donnenwirth looks to continue his pursuit of a C-USA championship and he plans on using the right mix of experienced veterans and talented newcomers to accomplish his goal.
"Our season starts on Wednesday," said head coach Rob Donnenwirth. "The biggest obstacle for us is to start trying to find the right combination of players for our team. We have a lot of hard decisions to make this year in who's starting and who's going to get playing time. Hopefully tomorrow will be the first step in making those decisions against real competition."
The Lady Pirates began fall practice on Aug. 14 and since have given the Pirate coaching staff a lot of different looks in possible lineups.
"We probably won't have a set lineup until sometime in the middle of the season. So it is an important time for our team to really show what they have individually. Of course we want to win on Wednesday, but our main focus is to see everybody play and stay injury free."
Wednesday's exhibition game against the Monarchs will carry a different format than usual. The match will consist of one 45-minute period and two 30-minute periods, giving Donnenwirth and his staff ample time to evaluate their nine Pirate newcomers.
"In the second 30-minute period of the match, we will definitely give everybody a look," Donnenwirth stated. "It has been my experience that certain players rise to a different level on game days than when they practice. I am anxious to see our team's chemistry against other competition."
The Pirates open the reuglar season against Texas on Aug. 29 at 7:30 p.m. in Raleigh, N.C., at SAS Stadium, home of the WUSA's Carolina Courage.
