Gameday: Pirates Battle USF In AAC Semifinals

Game 19: No. 4 ECU (10-5-3, 5-4-0) vs. No. 1 USF (13-2-0, 8-1-0)
Date	Friday, November 2
Time	7:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Tampa, Fla. (Corbett Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch
Information	Game Notes (PDF)
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUwsoccer Instagram: @ECUwsoccer Facebook: @ECUwsoccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Coming off an exciting penalty kick shootout victory, the ECU women's soccer team will meet host and top seed USF in the AAC semifinals on Friday night in Corbett Stadium.

"USF is a great team and it's no surprise that they finished top of the conference," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "I am glad we have the first game behind us to ease our nerves a little bit."

ECU (10-5-3) returned to the postseason for the first time and matched up with SMU. The team teams battled for 110 minutes on Wednesday night with neither giving an inch. The Mustangs took the lead in the 56th minute, but ECU tied the score when Erin Mikalsen scored her first goal of the season. Melanie Stiles made a key save in the second overtime to keep the game tied and then stopped the second SMU penalty kick during the shootout. With Stiles' save and Jayda Hylton-Pelaia, Tori Riggs, Marianna Shurina, Kat Gonzalez and Jenna Dagaes all converting their attempts, ECU advanced past the Mustangs 5-3. It was the first shootout win for ECU since beating the very same Mustangs in the 2005 C-USA tournament.

After topping SMU, the Pirates are back in the AAC semifinals for the first time since 2014. It will be the seventh time ECU has reached the semifinals of its conference tournament, having now reached the AAC semifinals twice and the C-USA semifinals five times. ECU is 1-5 all-time in semifinals, with the sole win coming in the 2008 C-USA semifinals.

"We are just going to tell our group to come out and compete as hard as they can," Hamilton said. "Leave it all out there on the field, and if on the day we are better, we can come away with a win."

USF (13-2-0) is the top seed in the AAC tournament after finishing the regular season with an 8-1 conference mark. The Bulls received a bye into the semifinals and are currently on a seven-match winning streak. USF is led by Evelyne Viens, the conference's Offensive Player of the Year, as well as the AAC Midfielder of the Year Andrea Hauksdottir. Viens led the conference with 41 points on 18 goals and five assists while Hauksdottir finished with 17 points on five goals and seven assists. Sydney Martinez has started 14 games in goal for the Bulls and has allowed just 10 goals.

USF leads the all-time series between the two programs 6-2-1 and has won six straight in the series after claiming a 4-0 win earlier this season. Friday's meeting will be the second time the two programs have played each other in the postseason. The first came in the 2014 AAC semifinals when ECU fell 3-0 in Tampa. The Pirates are 0-4 all-time at Corbett Stadium, a building that USF has won 13 straight games in.

"We don't want to focus on anything other than being our best on the day," Hamilton added. "It's one game, winner advances. What happened last time we played means nothing, so just focus on the game plan and go out and execute."

The two teams are scheduled to kick off at 7 p.m., on Friday night and are the second semifinal of the night. The match will be streamed on the American Digital Network, which fans can find here.

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Players Mentioned

Kat Gonzalez

Jayda Hylton-Pelaia

Erin Mikalsen

Tori Riggs

Marianna Shurina

Melanie Stiles

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