Gameday: ECU Faces SMU In Raleigh Wednesday Night

Match 7: East Carolina vs. NC State
Date	Wednesday, October 12
Time	7 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Raleigh, N.C. (Dail Soccer Field)
Coverage	Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUScoreboard \\\ @ECUwsoccer Instagram: @ECUwsoccer Facebook: @ECUwsoccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. - After having the site of competition moved, the East Carolina women's soccer team will face SMU in American Athletic Conference action on Wednesday, Oct. 12 in Raleigh. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. (EDT) at Dail Soccer Field on North Carolina State University's campus. Admission to the game is free for all spectators.

ALL-TIME VERSUS SMU
East Carolina (4-8, 0-3 AAC) will meet the Mustangs for the 12th time overall and trail the all-time series, 4-5-2. The Pirates suffered a 2-1 defeat in Dallas last season, but earned a 2-0 home win in 2014. The match will be the fourth between the two programs at a neutral site with the last three coming in 2005, 2008 and 2010 during postseason play when the two schools were members of Conference USA.

SCOUTING THE MUSTANGS
Receiving votes in the latest NSCAA poll, SMU (9-3-1, 3-0-1 AAC) enters Wednesday's contest unbeaten through its first four league games. The Mustangs played to a scoreless draw against 21st-ranked UConn on Thursday, before earning a 2-1 victory over Temple on Sunday. SMU is led by Allie Thornton's 23 points on 10 goals and three assists, while her 10 scores rank tied for fourth in the American and her points stand tied for the fifth most among all players. Vanessa Valadez has six goals and is tied with fellow teammate Jessica Cooley for third in the conference with six assists, respectively.

THE LONGEST HIATUS
The Pirates went 12 days (Sept. 18-Sept. 30) between home games against UNC Greensboro and Cincinnati, which is the second-longest span of time between games in the program's 22-year history. The previous long was 17 days during the 1999 campaign due to the effects of Hurricane Floyd.

1. 17 days (Sept. 12-Sept. 29, 1999)
2. 12 days (Sept. 18-Sept. 30, 2016)
3. 11 days (August 27-Sept. 7, 2008)
4. 10 days (Oct. 3-13, 2002)

SPITLER STRIKES TWICE, TWICE
Senior striker Lana Spitler has scored two goals in the same contest on two occasions thus far in 2016. She accomplished the feat in a career-high five-point effort against Charlotte (9/11), as well as in a 4-0 rout of Western Carolina (8/28). She now has four-career multi-goal efforts as she also scored twice at UNC Greensboro (9/6/15) and at home against Temple (9/28/14).

JEFFERS EARNS CONFERENCE ROOKIE-OF-THE-WEEK NOD
Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers was named American Athletic Conference Rookie-of-the-Week on Sept. 19 following a four-save, shutout performance against UNC Greensboro one day prior. The Windermere, Fla., native became the third player to earn the league's rookie-of-the-week honor since ECU began competing in the AAC, joining Brittany Fary (Sept. 8, 2014) and Courtney Cash (Sept. 14, 2015).

SCORING FIRST & FAST
East Carolina has scored first in six of its 12 matches this season and owns a 4-2 record under that circumstance. Not only are the Pirates usually first to light up the scoreboard, but they have scored inside the first 11 minutes of a match five times:

• Sixth Minute at Virginia Tech (Aug. 26)
• Ninth Minute at Western Carolina (Aug. 28)
• Second Minute vs. James Madison (Sept. 2)
• 11th Minute vs. James Madison (Sept. 2)
• 11th Minute vs. Charlotte (Sept. 11)

RARITY OF THE PK GOAL
Spitler scored the first goal in ECU's 3-2 home win over Charlotte on Sept. 11 on a penalty kick in the 11th minute, marking the first time the Pirates converted one since Danielle Romano (2010-13) on Oct. 31, 2013 to seal a 2-1 victory against Middle Tennessee.

SPITLER CLIMBING ALL-TIME SCORING LIST
Spitler's two goals against Charlotte on Sept. 11 were her fifth and six of the season and the 20th and 21st of her collegiate career, moving her into a tie for fifth place with Kendall Frey (2012-15) on ECU's all-time goals list.

CAPTAINS HOOK
East Carolina's captains in 2016 are senior defenders Autumn Berry and Caitlin Hite, Lana Spitler and junior midfielder Danielle Eule.

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Players Mentioned

Autumn Berry

Courtney Cash

Danielle Eule

Brittany Fary

Kendall Frey

Caitlin Hite

Caroline Jeffers

Lana Spitler

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