East Carolina University
George Mason
ECU Soccer Blanks George Mason, Sets Attendance Mark
August 21, 2015 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. - In front of a record crowd of 884 fans, the East Carolina women's soccer team used goals from its top two returning scorers, Kendall Frey and Lana Spitler, to earn a 2-0 shutout victory over George Mason in its 2015 season opener Friday evening at Johnson Soccer Stadium.
"I think our forwards were a big difference in the game," head coach Rob Donnewirth said. "I thought they played very well. The key to the game was the two saves Saundra (Baron) made. She's a presence in the goal and when she's playing like that, it's tough to beat her."
Frey scored 21 minutes into the first half, before Spitler sealed the win with a strike of her own in the 80th minute, while redshirt senior goalkeeper Saundra Baron made four saves to move her career shutout total to 13.5. Baron has now held opponents scoreless in seven of her last nine starts dating back to last season.
Frey finished with five total shots, four of which were on goal, and two points while Spitler took four attempts and had a game-high three points. Junior Kelsey Reeves and freshman Madeleine Watson recorded two shots and one shot on goal, respectively.
East Carolina (1-0) was aggressive from the opening kickoff, as Frey broke free after a through pass from sophomore midfielder Danielle Eule gave her a breakaway from 18 yards out, but had her shot blocked on a kick save by George Mason's (0-1) goalkeeper just three minutes into the match.
Frey earned another shot attempt saved inside the 14th minute, but on her third golden opportunity of the first half, the 2014 All-American Athletic Conference Second Team pick received another through pass from junior striker Lana Spitler approximately 30 yards out that gave her a one-on-one matchup with the opposing goalkeeper in the 21st minute. Frey pushed a shot to the right and out of the reach of the goalkeeper before the ball struck the inside of the far post and rolled over the goal line for the season's first goal. The tally was also the 17th in Frey's career.
The Pirates outshot the Patriots, 5-2, in the period while both sides had two corner kick opportunities, respectively.
After a relatively quiet 25-plus minutes began the second half, ECU pieced together a great opportunity with just under 18 minutes remaining. Spitler used some fancy footwork to beat her final defender down the left side of the George Mason back line and found Frey all alone next to the far goal post, where she touched the pass into the net, but was called offside on what would have been the Pirates' second goal of the night.
East Carolina took advantage of a costly mistake by a George Mason defender with 10 minutes to go, as she brought the ball to the near post of her own goal with hopes of her goalkeeper corralling the ball, but had it stripped away by Spitler who turned, fired and hit the far post. The ball ricocheted directly back to her feet where she collected her own rebound and finished the second chance into the back of the net to put the Pirates ahead, 2-0.
Baron made several huge saves on the night on headers and quick shots close to ECU's goal, but kept the Patriots off the scoreboard for the duration of the evening.
The Pirates concluded the match with a 13-6 advantage in shots and 7-4 edge in shots on goal, while George Mason owned a 5-4 lead in the corner kick department.
"Don't get me wrong, we still have a lot to work on," Donnenwirth said. "We're in a new system. They're still learning pressing points and who steps when, and those are things that will come with more games. In the end, we're really happy with the win, the shutout and moving on to Loyola."
East Carolina will remain at home and host Loyola-Chicago on Sunday, Aug. 23 at 1 p.m.
