Soccer Faces Rival N.C. State
September 11, 2009 | Soccer
Sept. 11, 2009
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After suffering its first loss of the season at No. 17 Wake Forest Sunday, the East Carolina soccer team looks to get back on track this weekend against N.C. State and former Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) rival Old Dominion.
The Pirates face N.C. State at 7 p.m. Friday in Raleigh and finish the weekend hosting Old Dominion at 2 p.m. Sunday.
East Carolina leads the series with in-state rival N.C. State 2-1. The Wolfpack won the first meeting, Sept. 27, 1997, 3-0. The Pirates have taken the last two games, blanking N.C. State by 1-0 scores on Oct. 29, 1999, and Aug. 26, 2000. The 1999 game was the only contest played in Greenville.
A Rare 3-0 Start ...
After defeating Stony Brook 3-1 last Friday, ECU began the season 3-0-0. Only two other times in program history had the Pirates gone the first three games without a loss, in 1996 and 1998. In 1996, the team began with three-straight wins, and in 1998, the squad got off to a 4-0 start.
Back-To-Back Winners ...
Sophomore Amanda Malkiewicz netted the game-winning goal in back-to-back contests last week. She scored the winner at 12:56 against Gardner-Webb Aug. 30 and at 46:38 last Friday against Stony Brook. Her two game-winners tie her for the most in Conference USA this season.
Malkiewicz now has five game-winning goals in her career, tied with senior Jessica Swanson for the most on the team.
Shaw Gets On The Score Sheet ...
Redshirt freshman Stephanie Shaw registered her first career point with an assist on Bailey Wilcox's goal last Friday.
Shaw played in three games, starting one, in 2008 before suffering an injury that forced her to miss the rest of the season. This year, Shaw has started all four games and has been solid on defense for the Pirates.
Wechsler Helps Everybody ...
Freshman Rachel Wechsler has started all four games of her Pirate career and registered three assists (on goals by Jessica Swanson, Amanda Malkiewicz and Jessica Woodward), tied for second-most in the conference. ECU's single-season record for assists is 15 set by Kim Sandhoff in 2000. Wechsler needs just four more helpers to crack East Carolina's top five singleseason assists list.
