East Carolina Soccer Faces USF In Regular Season Finale
October 25, 2014 | Soccer
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GREENVILLE, N.C. - In the midst of a three-way tie for fourth place in the American Athletic Conference standings, the East Carolina women's soccer team will travel to Tampa, Fla., on Sunday, Oct. 26, to take on USF. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.
Entering the final day of the regular season, East Carolina (10-6-1, 4-4-0 American) sits in a three-way tie for fourth place in the conference standings at 12 points with UConn and Cincinnati, while USF is in third place with 15 points. The Huskies will play at Temple, while the Bearcats will play at No. 23 UCF.
If the Pirates earn at least one point via tie, they will lock up at least a first-round bye as one of the league's top six teams. In several different scenarios, they can finish the weekend as one of the top four seeds and host a conference quarterfinal match next Sunday, Nov. 2 at Johnson Soccer Stadium.
SCOUTING THE BULLS
USF (10-6-1, 5-3-0 American) is coming off a 4-2 victory over Cincinnati on Friday night, and has won three-straight matches and five of its last six. The Bulls are outscoring opponents, 26-20, while the opposition holds an 85-78 advantage in corner kick chances.
ALL-TIME VERSUS USF
The Pirates own a 2-0-1 overall mark against the Bulls, but the two programs have not faced one another since the 2004 season, where East Carolina earned a 2-1 home victory.
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.
