Pirates Drop Non-Conference Tilt At 18th-Ranked Virginia Tech

Friday, August 26

Blacksburg, VA

7:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

1-2

(18) Virginia Tech

3-0

East Carolina

Virginia Tech

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

Pirates Drop Non-Conference Tilt At 18th-Ranked Virginia Tech

August 26, 2016 | Soccer

Box Score PDF Box Score

BLACKSBURG, Va. - The East Carolina women's soccer team got on the scoreboard first, but 18th-ranked Virginia Tech proved to be too much in a 5-1 non-conference road loss on Friday evening.

ECU was outshot 16-9 overall and 8-5 in shots on goal, while freshman midfielder Marianna Shurina led the purple and gold with three shots taken. Five different Pirates were responsible for their shots on target. Redshirt freshman goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers made three saves.

HEAD COACH ROB DONNENWIRTH QUOTE
"I think there are a lot of positives we can take from this match. I thought our team-defending was very good in the first half and we created chances in transition. It was tough allowing another goal in the last seconds of the first half."

THE GOALS
Sixth Minute: With an early emphasis on possession and establishing an attacking presence, as sophomore forward Courtney Cash took full advantage of an open seam and struck home he first goal of the season to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

45th Minute: Virginia Tech (3-0) broke the ECU pressure and drew a foul approximately 35 yards away. With just 50 seconds left in the half, Kelsey Irwin took the free kick and buried a shot into the back of the net to draw the match even at one-all.

52nd Minute: Carrying their momentum into the early stages of the second half, the Hokies created an excellent opportunity just over six minutes into the second half where a through-ball made it to Alani Johnson who used her speed to open up a breakaway from the midfield before finishing a shot for the go-ahead goal to put the home team in front for the first time, 2-1.

73rd Minute: Johnson would extend Virginia Tech's advantage to two goals when she collected a rebound in front of ECU's net before striking a shot past Jeffers.

73rd Minute: Just 46 seconds after Johnson's second goal of the match, Laila Gray got off a high-quality shot with an open look to push the home club's lead to 4-1.

82nd Minute: After the Pirates put together a little offense with some deep shot attempts, the Hokies finished off their scoring on another breakaway goal by Bridget Patch following a soft touch by Gray from the midfield for their fifth goal of the evening.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
-Cash's goal was the second of her career and first since her double-overtime golden goal against Western Carolina on Sept. 11, 2015 in Greenville.
-The five goals allowed by the Pirates were their most since allowing the same number to Colorado College in the semifinals of the 2013 Conference USA Tournament in Houston, Texas.

UP NEXT
East Carolina (1-2) will make a quick turnaround to will play the last of three-straight road matches when it heads to Cullowhee, N.C., on Sunday, Aug. 28 to face Western Carolina. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.