Friday, September 30
Greenville, N.C.
7:00 P.M.
East Carolina University
4-6, 0-1AAC
0
vs
2
Cincinnati
8-2-1, 1-0AAC
1
2
F
Cincinnati
1
1
2
East Carolina
0
0
0
Photo by: Rob Goldberg
Pirates Fall To Cincinnati In Conference Opener, 2-0
September 30, 2016 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's soccer team suffered a 2-0 setback to Cincinnati in its first American Athletic Conference match of the season Friday evening at Johnson Stadium.
Senior striker Lana Spitler led all players with a season-high seven shot attempts and three shots on goal, as the Pirates outshot the Bearcats, 18-10, overall and 8-6 in shots on goal. ECU's 18 total shots marked a season-high. Both sides split corner kick chances at six apiece. Cincinnati (8-2-1, 1-0-0 AAC) goalkeeper Natalie Smith made eight saves to earn the shutout victory and improve her record to 6-0-1 on the season.
THE GOALS
36th Minute: After a Bearcat forward won a footrace with ECU goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers for a loose ball and was fouled directly along the outside of the 18-yard line, Cincinnati leading goal-scorer Julie Gavorski lined up for a free kick from the left side and hammered an untouched shot into the top of the net for the first goal of the match.
79th Minute: After escaping immense offensive pressure from the Pirates, Taylor Jackson sent a low, hard pass that was deflected up into the air by an ECU defender and into the heart of ECU's goal box where Jordan Cotleur headed home ball on its descent and into the back of the net to seal the match, 2-0.
HEAD COACH ROB DONNENWIRTH QUOTE
"I thought out second half was a lot better than our first half. We were more aggressive and tried to defend higher up the pitch and I thought that helped us. I give a lot of credit to these girls. You can definitely tell they left it all on the field for us and this is one of those games where we didn't finish and they did. We have players that are good finishers and their keeper made a few good saves for them. In the end, that's the difference."
UP NEXT
East Carolina (4-6, 0-1 AAC) returns to action next Thursday, Oct. 6 at Memphis. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (EDT).
Senior striker Lana Spitler led all players with a season-high seven shot attempts and three shots on goal, as the Pirates outshot the Bearcats, 18-10, overall and 8-6 in shots on goal. ECU's 18 total shots marked a season-high. Both sides split corner kick chances at six apiece. Cincinnati (8-2-1, 1-0-0 AAC) goalkeeper Natalie Smith made eight saves to earn the shutout victory and improve her record to 6-0-1 on the season.
THE GOALS
36th Minute: After a Bearcat forward won a footrace with ECU goalkeeper Caroline Jeffers for a loose ball and was fouled directly along the outside of the 18-yard line, Cincinnati leading goal-scorer Julie Gavorski lined up for a free kick from the left side and hammered an untouched shot into the top of the net for the first goal of the match.
79th Minute: After escaping immense offensive pressure from the Pirates, Taylor Jackson sent a low, hard pass that was deflected up into the air by an ECU defender and into the heart of ECU's goal box where Jordan Cotleur headed home ball on its descent and into the back of the net to seal the match, 2-0.
HEAD COACH ROB DONNENWIRTH QUOTE
"I thought out second half was a lot better than our first half. We were more aggressive and tried to defend higher up the pitch and I thought that helped us. I give a lot of credit to these girls. You can definitely tell they left it all on the field for us and this is one of those games where we didn't finish and they did. We have players that are good finishers and their keeper made a few good saves for them. In the end, that's the difference."
UP NEXT
East Carolina (4-6, 0-1 AAC) returns to action next Thursday, Oct. 6 at Memphis. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. (EDT).
Team Stats
CIN
ECU
Goals
2
0
Shots
10
18
Shots on Goal
6
8
Saves
8
4
Corners
6
6
Fouls
7
13
Scoring Plays
GAVORSKI, Julie (5)
Free kick from left side of 18-yard line
35:44
COTLEUR, Jordan (2)
Assisted By: JACKSON, Taylor
Cross deflected, popped up in front of n
78:58
Game Leaders
Shots
7
SOG
3
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
Goalkeeper
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