East Carolina Soccer 2015 Season Preview
August 13, 2015 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's soccer team will make a short trip north to Farmville, Va., for its lone exhibition match before the start of the 2015 campaign on Friday, Aug. 14. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
The two clubs met in a preseason exhibition at Johnson Soccer Stadium prior to the start of the 2015 campaign, where they played 90 minutes of scoreless soccer, before Courtney Taybron scored a goal during a 20-minute designated period following regulation.
Head Coach Rob Donnenwirth begins his 17th season with a 220-145-48 career record as a head coach and a 158-119-39 mark at the helm of the ECU program. The Pirates posted a 12-8-1 overall ledger, including four league wins, in their first season as a member of the American Athletic Conference in 2014, but bring back a veteran squad comprising 19 returners and 10 newcomers this year.
East Carolina was picked to finish sixth in The American in 2015 despite reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament last season after topping Houston in the opening round and upsetting No. 2 seed Memphis in the semifinals. Senior forward Kendall Frey was one of just 11 players selected to the league's preseason all-conference team after being one of three Pirates, along with Kelley Johnson and Erika Lenns, named all-conference second team, while also earning a place on the American's all-tournament team.
SCHEDULE OVERVIEW
ECU will play 10 road matches and nine at home during the regular season, while the 2015 American Athletic Conference Championship will be held at SMU in Dallas, Texas Nov. 3-8. The Pirates will play 11 matches in the state of North Carolina, with two in-state road games at UNC Greensboro (Sept. 6) and Charlotte (Sept. 13). The Pirates will open league play at Houston on Thursday, Sept. 24, before hosting 2014 regular-season champion UCF seven days later on Oct. 1 at Johnson Soccer Stadium.
FORWARDS
East Carolina's top two offensive threats from a year ago return with Frey and junior striker Lana Spitler, who tied for the club lead in goals (8) and points (18), respectively, while Spitler topped all ECU players with 34 shots taken. Redshirt senior Stephanie Seagrave is back for a fifth season after having her 2014 campaign cut short due to an injury after just five matches and will provide a significant boost to the attack. She had four goals and three assists for 11 points in 2013 and two assists prior to her setback last season. Additional depth at the position will come with the help of Taybron and Reeves.
MIDFIELDERS
The Pirates' midfield boasts a diverse blend of experience and youth, headlined by junior Jenna Geist who made 20 starts and logged the third most minutes among all position players with 1,859, including playing every minute in 16 of the team's 21 games. Senior Kelsie Halstenrud, juniors Colleen Knier and Reeves, as well as sophomores Danielle Eule and Rachel Renfrow will play a big part in balancing the minutes across the board.
DEFENDERS
ECU's defensive unit will take a slightly new shape after losing all-conference second team pick Kelley Johnson to graduation, but still returns juniors Autumn Berry and Caitlin Hite, as well as Haley Patsey who has started all 41 collegiate matches in which she has appeared, but missed all of 2014 with an injury sustained during preseason. Senior Jackie Cajigal is also expected to contribute meaningful minutes and provide some of her veteran leadership in the transition game for a back line that tied the single-season program record with 11 shutouts last year.
GOALKEEPERS
Redshirt senior Saundra Baron is back for her redshirt senior campaign after recording 5.5 shutouts and a 0.73 goals against average in the first eight matches of the season, but missed the entire conference slate with an injury. Erika Lenns took over and was excellent, compiling 5.5 shutouts and eight wins of her own en route to receiving all-conference second team honors. Genavieve "Gigi" Ramirez arrives as a sophomore after spending last season at Division II Mount Olive College and Drew Williams returns for her second year after missing 2014 with an injury.
FRESHMAN CLASS
East Carolina welcomes nine freshmen to campus for their first collegiate seasons, including goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers (Windermere, Fla.), defenders Lindsey Tornabene (Denver, Colo.), Madeleine Watson (Reston, Va.) and hometown product Megan Jones, midfielders Ashley Kendrot (Raleigh, N.C.), Ashley Jacobs (Spotsylvania, Va.) and midfield/forward hybrids Courtney Cash (Cary, N.C.), Zoe Crabtree (Durham, N.C.) and Brooke Carty (Long Valley, N.J.). Several members of the crop will be relied upon to play important minutes and contribute right away across the midfield and along the defensive line.
