ECU Falls to USF 4-0

Sunday, October 7

Tampa, Fla.

1:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

7-5-2, 2-4-0

USF

8-2-0, 3-1-0

ECU

USF

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

October 07, 2018 | Soccer

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

TAMPA, FLA. – Against one of the top teams in the conference, the ECU women's soccer team could not keep up with No. 25 USF, falling 4-0 on Sunday afternoon in Corbett Stadium.

"It was a disappointing game all around," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "I've said it time and time again that good teams are consistent and we are not at that point yet. We have to find a way to play good in both games on the weekend and not just one game well, which has been the case so far throughout conference play."

After playing solid defense for most of the first half, ECU fell behind with less than two minutes remaining in the first period. USF scored when Sydny Nasello's cross found Rebekah Anderson in the ECU box and Anderson scored.

USF delivered the knockout blow with a pair of goals within a minute of each other early in the second half. First, Andrea Huaksdottir lined up a free kick from about 25 yards out from the ECU goal and her effort soared into the upper right corner of the net. Hauksdottir added a second goal 47 seconds later when she scored off a pass from Leah Ferlin.

"The difference between Thursday and Sunday is how much we compete and the effort we put forth," Hamilton said. "USF had much more energy than we did the entire game and the amount of first and second balls they beat us to never really gave us a chance."

Evelyne Viens, the conference's leading scorer, added a fourth goal in the 77th minute on an unassisted effort.

USF finished with a 20-6 edge in shots and a 7-1 advantage in corner kicks. Melanie Stiles made six saves in 82:30 of action with Erin Bradley handling the final 7:30 in goal.

"If we can take a positive away from it, it was that we gave some players some minutes who had not yet played much in a game as well as resting those who we have been playing a lot," added Hamilton.

ECU returns home to Johnson Stadium for the final three games of the regular season. The Pirates host Connecticut on Thursday evening, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m., in Johnson Stadium.