ECU Soccer Faces Houston in American Conference Tournament
October 30, 2014 | Soccer
ECU Game Notes 
| American Conference Notes | Tournament Bracket
GREENVILLE, N.C. - After finishing the regular season with a 10-7-1 overall record and 4-5 mark in conference play, the seventh seeded East Carolina women's soccer team will travel to Memphis, Tenn., to take on No. 10 seed Houston in the first round of the 2014 American Athletic Conference Championship on Friday, Oct. 31 at 2 p.m.
The winner of Friday's match will advance to the quarterfinals and take on No. 2 seed Memphis on Sunday, Nov. 2 at 3 p.m. The semifinals and championship match will take place Nov. 7 and 9, respectively, at Corbett Soccer Stadium on the campus of the University of South Florida in Tampa.
ALL-TIME VERSUS HOUSTON
ECU is 9-2 all-time against the Cougars, as the Pirates won, 1-0, in Greenville during their regular-season meeting on Oct. 16. The two programs have matched up at a neutral site just one time, which came during the 2002 campaign when both programs were members of Conference USA.
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 17 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.
