ECU Soccer Travels to No. 23 UCF Friday Night
October 23, 2014 | Soccer
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - After notching wins in its final two home matches last week, the East Carolina women's soccer team will embark on its final American Athletic Conference road trip when it travels to Orlando, Fla., on Friday, Oct. 24, to take on 23rd-ranked UCF at 7 p.m.
Following Friday's match, the Pirates will continue make a short drive to Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, Oct. 26, to take on USF at 1 p.m., in their final match of the regular season.
Entering the final weekend of the season, East Carolina (10-5-1, 4-3-0 American) sits in a four-way tie for third place in the conference standings with UConn, Cincinnati and USF. All four teams have earned 12 points in league games this year. The Huskies will play at Temple in their lone contest, while Bearcats will play the same opponents as ECU this weekend. If the Pirates earn at least one point via tie in either of their two matches, they will lock up at least a first-round bye. If they finish the weekend as one of the top four seeds, they will host a conference quarterfinal match on Sunday, Nov. 2 at Johnson Soccer Stadium.
SCOUTING THE KNIGHTS
UCF (13-3, 6-1 American) will be the third top 25 team ECU faces this season. The Knights had their win streak of 25-straight in conference matches snapped in a 1-0 loss at UConn last Sunday. Senior forward Tatiana Coleman ranks among the league's best in every offensive category with 26 points on nine goals and eight assists. Senior Jennifer Martin has 17 points on five goals and seven assists, while Ashley Spivey owns 15 points on five goals and five assists. Goalkeeper Connie Organ has allowed just eight goals in 16 matches and is allowing just 0.50 goals per game to go with nine shutouts.
ALL-TIME VERSUS UCF
The Knights own an 8-1-2 lead over the Pirates in the all-time series, with the last meeting coming during the 2012 season when both were members of Conference USA. ECU's lone victory came in the 2011 C-USA Tournament, where it defeated UCF, 2-1.
SEASON OF SHUTOUTS
ECU has posted 11 shutouts thus far in 2014, which is tied for with the 2007 team for the most in a single season in school history.
FIRST HALF TELLS ALL
Through 15 games this season, the first 45 minutes of play have been the tell-all tale for East Carolina. When the Pirates score a goal in the first half, they are 7-0 overall and 3-0 in conference matches.
DOUBLE-DIGIT WINS
With its 2-0 win over SMU on Sunday, Oct. 19, ECU recorded its 10th victory of the season, marking the 11th overall time in program history the Pirates have reached double-digit wins.
LOOKING INTO LENNS
Senior goalkeeper Erika Lenns has been named the American Athletic Conference Goalkeeper-of-the-Week twice this season, with the most recent recognition coming on Oct. 20 after posting back-to-back four-save shutouts in conference victories over Houston and SMU. Following a career-high seven saves against UConn on Sept. 25 and a two-save blanking of Temple on Sept. 28, she earned her first weekly nod of her career.
SPITLER'S SCORING SPREE
Sophomore striker Lana Spitler has scored five goals in seven American Athletic Conference matches so far this season. She scored four times in East Carolina's first four league contests, including two tallies against Temple on Sept. 28. The two scores marked her first-career multi-goal game and she was chosen as The American's Offensive Player-of-the-Week.
FREY SCORING FRENZY
For the second time this season, junior forward Kendall Frey scored goals in back-to-back games after netting the game-winner against Houston (10/16), before scoring again just three days later against SMU (10/19). Frey scored a goal in each game of ECU's back-to-back wins at George Mason (8/29) and Francis Marion (9/1). She followed that up with a career-high four-shot night and assisted on both goals in a 2-0 win against Davidson (9/5).
ROAD BLOCKING
East Carolina recorded a five-match winning streak, including four-straight on the road at Western Carolina (8/24), George Mason (8/29), Francis Marion (9/1) and UNC Greensboro (9/12). The last time the Pirates won five-straight games via shutout was in 1999.
HERRING COMES UP HUGE
Senior midfielder Lexi Herring intercepted a goal kick in the 69th minute and beat the goalkeeper for her first-career game-winning goal at UNC Greensboro (9/12). She later notched her first-career assist on a go-ahead goal versus UConn (9/25).
BARON'S BARREN NET
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Saundra Baron posted five-straight shutouts, at Western Carolina (8/24), at George Mason (8/29), at Francis Marion (9/1), home versus Davidson (9/5) and at UNC Greensboro (9/12). She is the first ECU goalkeeper since Amber Campbell in 2007 to accomplish the feat and held opponents scoreless for a span of 505 minutes and 20 seconds. She has six total shutouts so far this season.
