East Carolina, Longwood Play to 1-1 Draw in Exhibition
August 14, 2015 | Soccer
FARMVILLE, Va. - Freshman Courtney Cash scored a late goal and sophomore goalkeeper Genavieve Ramirez made a handful of huge saves inside the final 10 minutes of regulation to highlight the East Carolina women's soccer team's 1-1 draw against Longwood in exhibition play Friday evening.
"This game helps us see where our team has grasped concepts we have worked on and what we still need to drive home," head coach Rob Donnenwirth said. "We still have some work to do, but we had some good individual performances."
East Carolina took one shot off the foot of freshman Lindsey Tornabene in the opening 45 minutes, although Longwood proved to be the aggressor on the stat sheet by recording five shots. Two of those shots were on goal, but redshirt senior Saundra Baron stopped both attempts to keep the match scoreless at halftime.
ECU got out onto the attack at the start of the second half, as junior forward Lana Spitler struck a shot off the crossbar just 31 seconds in that avoided the inside of the net to keep the score 0-0.
The Lancers responded in a big way immediately following the Pirates' missed opportunity, earning a pair of corner kicks within the first nine minutes of action. The second came in the 54th minute when Olivia Colella sent a cross into the box that found the head of Sheyenne Stretz, who redirected the ball into the upper right corner to put Longwood on top, 1-0.
Fifth-year senior forward Stephanie Seagrave kicked a shot wide of the Lancers' net five minutes later, before Cash got off ECU's first shot on goal of the night on a close attempt of her own in the 72nd minute, but it was saved.
East Carolina continued to pressure Longwood's back line for the ensuing four minutes until junior Autumn Berry found Cash open at the top of the box, who buried a shot into the lower right corner to tie the match, 1-1.
The Lancers countered once more, taking consecutive shots right in front of the Pirates' net in the 81st minute, but sophomore goalkeeper Ramirez made one stop before a Longwood attacker kicked a rebound off the first save that she also turned aside to keep the score even.
Longwood earned a trio of corner kick chances inside the final eight minutes of regulation, but none of them blossomed into a go-ahead goal as Ramirez made one more save before the whistle blew after 90 minutes of action.
The Pirates were outshot, 12-5, overall and 7-2 in shots on goal, while the Lancers also held a 7-1 advantage in corner kick opportunities.
East Carolina will officially begin its 2015 campaign next Friday, Aug. 21 when it hosts George Mason. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., at Johnson Soccer Stadium.
