ECU Meets Memphis In American Conference Quarterfinals
November 01, 2014 | Soccer
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| American Conference Notes GREENVILLE, N.C. - After eliminating Houston by a score of 3-1 in Friday's first round, the seventh-seeded East Carolina women's soccer team will face No. 2 seed Memphis on its home field in the quarterfinals of the 2014 American Athletic Conference Championship on Sunday, Nov. 2, at 3 p.m.
A victory Sunday will send East Carolina (11-7-1) to next weekend's semifinals in Tampa, Fla., where it would take on the winner of No. 6 seed Cincinnati and No. 3 seed USF on Friday, Nov. 7 at Corbett Stadium. The championship game will be held two days later at 11 a.m., and will be televised nationally on ESPNU.
ECU, which defeated Houston twice this season, earned its first victory of the season that was not a shutout in the first-round win over the Cougars. The Pirates will have their hands full against Memphis (8-5-4) however, as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to the Tigers on Oct. 12.
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 19 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 8-0 overall and 4-0 against teams from the American Conference.
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).
