East Carolina University
Gardner-Webb
Pirates Blank Gardner-Webb, 4-0
August 30, 2009 | Soccer
Aug. 30, 2009
Boiling Springs, N.C. – Three Pirates scored goals and Jen Kurowicki and Berit Hansen combined to stop all four shots they faced as the East Carolina soccer team defeated Gardner-Webb 4-0 on Sunday afternoon inside Greene-Harbison Stadium. With the win, ECU moves to 2-0 while the Runnin’ Bulldogs fall to 0-3.
The victory gives head coach Rob Donnenwirth 100 wins with the Pirate program, 70 more than any other coach in school history. Donnenwirth is one of only four coaches in Conference USA to have 100 wins with his or her current program. Amanda Cromwell (141) of UCF, Paul Harbin (129) of UAB and Kevin Cross (106) of UTEP have all passed the 100-victory threshold.
“It was a good overall game for us this afternoon,” Donnenwirth said. “We came out with good energy and possessed the ball well.”
The Pirates wasted little time getting on the scoreboard as sophomore Amanda Malkiewicz found the back of the net just 12:56 into the contest after she collected a rebound and put it past Gardner-Webb goalkeeper Samantha Rupert. Junior Bailey Wilcox and freshman Chrissy Gratz both recorded assists on the play. Gratz is the only ECU player to have picked up assists in both games this season.
Just over 10 minutes later, at the 23:44 mark, Wilcox scored a goal off an assist from sophomore Leah Bagonis to make it a 2-0 ECU advantage.
The score remained the same until 68:39, when sophomore Kimmy Cummings scored her first of two goals within a seven-minute span. Cummings’ first goal was assisted by freshman Caty Butler and on her second, scored at 75:35, Bagonis picked up her second assist of the game.
The two-goal game was the first of Cummings’ career and the first by a Pirate since Oct. 31, 2008, when Blair Heffner scored twice against Marshall. The pair of goals also gave Cummings more points than she recorded all of her freshman campaign.
“Bailey was very active and was rewarded with a goal,” Donnenwirth stated. “It was also good to have Kimmy score two goals.”
East Carolina outshot Gardner-Webb 16-8 in the game and had eight more corner kicks than the hosts. Kurowicki and Hansen combined in the shutout, the first in either of their careers, making two saves each. For the second straight contest, Kurowicki started and played the first half with Hansen coming in at the beginning of the second.
The Runnin’ Bulldogs were led by Megan Tremblay and Tina Frost, who each recorded two shots in the contest.
The Pirates return to action Friday, Sept. 4, hosting Stony Brook at 4 p.m. In the series with the Seawolves, neither team has recorded a victory as the 1998 game ended in a 1-1 tie and the 2007 contest was a 0-0 deadlock.
