Friday, August 19
Greenville, N.C.
7:00 P.M.
East Carolina University
0-1
0
vs
3
William & Mary
1-0
1
2
F
William & Mary
3
0
3
East Carolina
0
0
0
Photo by: Rob Goldberg
Pirates Fall To William & Mary, 3-0
August 19, 2016 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's soccer team surrendered a trio of first-half goals and they were all William & Mary needed to seal a 3-0 victory in the 2016 season opener Friday evening at Johnson Stadium.
Senior Lana Spitler led the Pirates with three total shots, two of which were saved by the Tribe's goalkeeper, in 72 minutes of action, while sophomore Courtney Cash also put a pair of shots on goal in 67 minutes of field time.
THE GOALS
10th Minute: William & Mary (1-0) got its evening started when Sami Grasso headed a ball off Pirate redshirt freshman goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers' right glove, which then deflected off the crossbar before landing in front of the goal box. Tribe forward Sarah Segan came up with the rebound and placed a shot into the left corner for the first goal of the match.
33rd Minute: The Tribe opened up a fast break into ECU's (0-1) midfield and sent a cross into the box from approximately 40 yards out. A misplayed ball by one of the last defenders was deflected into the right side of the net to give William & Mary a 2-0 advantage.
45th Minute: After several moments of heavy pressure on the Pirates' back line, a clear attempt turned into a loose ball that settled onto the foot of midfielder Rachel Moore. She gave it a few touches and moved toward the center of the field before firing a shot from approximately 30 yards out with just six seconds remaining in the half, which hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced downward and beyond the goal line to make the score 3-0 in favor of the visiting club.
THE STATS
East Carolina outshot William & Mary, 5-4, in the second half, but trailed 12-10 overall in the category. The Tribe held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks, while goalkeeper Grace Smith made five saves in the shutout performance. Jeffers made six saves in her first-career start.
HEAD COACH ROB DONNENWIRTH QUOTE
"At halftime, I told the team to try and win the second half. I thought we did well at times and gave a lot (of effort). We have to build from it. I don't think anyone is happy right now, but we can learn some things from this. We definitely need to get better defending in the box. We're not there yet. The games are won and lost in the box. They finished and we didn't."
UP NEXT
East Carolina will make a quick turnaround and play its first road contest of the season at Towson on Sunday, Oct. 21. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Senior Lana Spitler led the Pirates with three total shots, two of which were saved by the Tribe's goalkeeper, in 72 minutes of action, while sophomore Courtney Cash also put a pair of shots on goal in 67 minutes of field time.
THE GOALS
10th Minute: William & Mary (1-0) got its evening started when Sami Grasso headed a ball off Pirate redshirt freshman goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers' right glove, which then deflected off the crossbar before landing in front of the goal box. Tribe forward Sarah Segan came up with the rebound and placed a shot into the left corner for the first goal of the match.
33rd Minute: The Tribe opened up a fast break into ECU's (0-1) midfield and sent a cross into the box from approximately 40 yards out. A misplayed ball by one of the last defenders was deflected into the right side of the net to give William & Mary a 2-0 advantage.
45th Minute: After several moments of heavy pressure on the Pirates' back line, a clear attempt turned into a loose ball that settled onto the foot of midfielder Rachel Moore. She gave it a few touches and moved toward the center of the field before firing a shot from approximately 30 yards out with just six seconds remaining in the half, which hit the bottom of the crossbar and bounced downward and beyond the goal line to make the score 3-0 in favor of the visiting club.
THE STATS
East Carolina outshot William & Mary, 5-4, in the second half, but trailed 12-10 overall in the category. The Tribe held a 6-2 advantage in corner kicks, while goalkeeper Grace Smith made five saves in the shutout performance. Jeffers made six saves in her first-career start.
HEAD COACH ROB DONNENWIRTH QUOTE
"At halftime, I told the team to try and win the second half. I thought we did well at times and gave a lot (of effort). We have to build from it. I don't think anyone is happy right now, but we can learn some things from this. We definitely need to get better defending in the box. We're not there yet. The games are won and lost in the box. They finished and we didn't."
UP NEXT
East Carolina will make a quick turnaround and play its first road contest of the season at Towson on Sunday, Oct. 21. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.
Team Stats
WM
ECU
Goals
3
0
Shots
12
10
Shots on Goal
9
5
Saves
5
6
Corners
6
2
Fouls
4
11
Scoring Plays
Segan, Sarah (1)
Assisted By: Grasso, Sami
Collected rebound after header off cross
9:12
TEAM
Cross lofted in from right wing, touched
32:36
Moore, Rachel (1)
Shot from 25 yards out hits bottom of cr
44:54
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Midfield/Forward
/ SoccerForward
/ SoccerECU Soccer Selection Show
Monday, November 11
Head Coach Gary Higgins Post Houston Interview
Friday, September 23
Women's Soccer at SMU Highlights
Friday, September 16
Gary Higgins Post Florida Interview
Monday, September 12
