East Carolina University
Marshall
Kirkley's Three Assists Lead Pirates Over Herd
October 06, 2006 | Soccer
Oct. 6, 2006
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GREENVILLE, N.C. -- The East Carolina women's soccer team notched its first Conference USA win of the season with a 5-0 shutout of Marshall Friday afternoon at a damp and chilly Bunting Field. Freshman Amy Szilard scored twice for the Lady Pirates while Tara Shaw, Jami Dickerson and Madison Keller also tallied goals. Freshman Sarah Kirkley contributed three assists in the win. The Lady Pirates out-shot the Herd 11-6 with eight of the team's shots coming in the second half. Keeper Amber Campbell's fourth shutout of the season moved her into second place all-time on ECU's shutout chart.
The scoreless first half featured little action as both teams tried to adjust to the wet playing surface. Marshall had the best chance of the half in the 20th minute when Sara Burdick's blast nicked the left post but trickled harmlessly out of bounds. The Herd (4-6-1, 0-3-0) was the more physical of the squads in the first half, committing seven fouls to ECU's two.
The Lady Pirates (6-5-2, 1-1-1) exerted themselves in the second half, scoring five goals to put the game out of Marshall's reach. Dickerson started the scoring at the 58:00 mark by heading the ball into the top netting off a Kirkley corner. Keller was credited with an assist on the play. ECU added to their lead five minutes later when Tara Shaw put the ball past Herd keeper Liz Orton off assists from Kirkley and Patty Pierce. The Lady Pirates added three more goals in the last 25 minutes to seal the victory. ECU out-shot Marshall 10-2 in its explosive second half. The five goals by the Lady Pirates was a season-high at Bunting Field.
"I believe that we gave a solid effort for all 90 minutes today," said head coach Rob Donnenwirth. "After we scored our first goal, it seemed to take the life out of Marshall and we took advantage of the situation."
The Lady Pirates continue their three-game homestand next weekend, hosting UCF on Friday, while welcoming Southern Miss to Bunting Field on Sunday.
