Cash Leads ECU Over Gardner-Webb 2-1
August 11, 2018 | Soccer
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GREENVILLE, N.C. – In its final tune-up before the regular season, the ECU women's soccer team beat Gardner-Webb 2-1 in an exhibition match on Saturday night in Johnson Stadium.
"We executed much better this game than we did last game," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "We took things from last game that we wanted to work on, possession was a big part of that as well as our grit and fight. We kept the ball a lot and our movement we talked a ton about and I think it showed with the chances we created. Our movement was much better and it allowed us to keep possession. We're happy with the things we worked on between games, they did well and now we will find things to work on moving forward."
ECU almost took the lead minutes into the game when Morgan Dewey's free kick found Tori Riggs in the box, but Riggs effort was saved by Gardner-Webb's Keely Brown.
In the 23rd minute, the Pirates once again had a free kick in a dangerous position. This time Dewey's cross from the left wing reached Courtney Cash's head and Cash was able to direct the pass into the far post to open the scoring. It was the second consecutive exhibition the pair have connected for a goal, as Cash scored off a Dewey corner kick against VCU.
"She (Cash) is hungry as a player," said Hamilton. "She worked extremely hard during the offseason, she knows it's her last season. She knows she has some special players around here and there's the ability for this to be a very good team and have a great season on her way out. She's just one of the hardest working players day in and day out. She has the ability to be a special player so we're just trying to coach her and make her the best player we can."
After heading into halftime with the lead still at 1-0, ECU came out strong in the second half and peppered the Gardner-Webb goal with shots. The Pirates broke through in the 57th minute. Cash laid a pass off to Kat Gonzalez at the top of the Runnin' Bulldogs penalty area. Gonzalez took advantage of the space and ripped a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to give ECU a 2-0 cushion.
Gardner-Webb halved its deficit in the 67th minute. Samuelle Grove sent a cross into the ECU box from the right side and Maddie Turlington was there to meet it, as Turlington finished into the bottom left corner of the net.
Although the Runnin' Bulldogs continued to push forward in the hopes of scoring an equalizer, the ECU defense held strong and did not allow Gardner-Webb to put a shot on goal after the Runnin' Bulldogs scored their lone goal.Â
"I'm proud of the girls," Hamilton said. "It's been a long preseason and we've put a lot on their bodies. We've tried to make it very adverse in our training sessions because in our games, when we have those adverse moments, we want to be able to be more successful. Having to finish off a game 2-1, that's very adverse because the other team is pressing and pushing numbers forward. They're playing very direct. Our team has done a good job handling what we've thrown at them and it showed in this game."
ECU had three goalkeepers combine to preserve the win. Melanie Stiles started in net, making a pair of saves in 61 minutes of action. Erin Bradley relieved her, playing 15:12 while Hayleigh Pack handled the final 13:25. The Pirates held a commanding 23-9 edge in shots and both teams took two corner kicks each.
ECU will hit the road for the first match of the regular season, traveling to Old Dominion for a 7:00 pm match on Friday, Aug. 17. The Pirates will host the first home match of the regular season two days later, when Radford comes to Greenville for a 7:00 pm match.
"We still have a lot of work to do," added Hamilton. "I think as a coach, you're never happy. We won the game, we fought hard. We got people some minutes that had not seen a lot yet. We need to have more depth, so the players on the bench can come in and be impactful and help us out when the players who play more need a rest. We saw that with some players that helped us. Overall, we have to be a team that outworks our opponents and we talked about that and I think today we won that battle. When you outwork your opponents and the game is close, you're going to come out with a win."
GREENVILLE, N.C. – In its final tune-up before the regular season, the ECU women's soccer team beat Gardner-Webb 2-1 in an exhibition match on Saturday night in Johnson Stadium.
"We executed much better this game than we did last game," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "We took things from last game that we wanted to work on, possession was a big part of that as well as our grit and fight. We kept the ball a lot and our movement we talked a ton about and I think it showed with the chances we created. Our movement was much better and it allowed us to keep possession. We're happy with the things we worked on between games, they did well and now we will find things to work on moving forward."
ECU almost took the lead minutes into the game when Morgan Dewey's free kick found Tori Riggs in the box, but Riggs effort was saved by Gardner-Webb's Keely Brown.
In the 23rd minute, the Pirates once again had a free kick in a dangerous position. This time Dewey's cross from the left wing reached Courtney Cash's head and Cash was able to direct the pass into the far post to open the scoring. It was the second consecutive exhibition the pair have connected for a goal, as Cash scored off a Dewey corner kick against VCU.
"She (Cash) is hungry as a player," said Hamilton. "She worked extremely hard during the offseason, she knows it's her last season. She knows she has some special players around here and there's the ability for this to be a very good team and have a great season on her way out. She's just one of the hardest working players day in and day out. She has the ability to be a special player so we're just trying to coach her and make her the best player we can."
After heading into halftime with the lead still at 1-0, ECU came out strong in the second half and peppered the Gardner-Webb goal with shots. The Pirates broke through in the 57th minute. Cash laid a pass off to Kat Gonzalez at the top of the Runnin' Bulldogs penalty area. Gonzalez took advantage of the space and ripped a shot into the bottom right corner of the goal to give ECU a 2-0 cushion.
Gardner-Webb halved its deficit in the 67th minute. Samuelle Grove sent a cross into the ECU box from the right side and Maddie Turlington was there to meet it, as Turlington finished into the bottom left corner of the net.
Although the Runnin' Bulldogs continued to push forward in the hopes of scoring an equalizer, the ECU defense held strong and did not allow Gardner-Webb to put a shot on goal after the Runnin' Bulldogs scored their lone goal.Â
"I'm proud of the girls," Hamilton said. "It's been a long preseason and we've put a lot on their bodies. We've tried to make it very adverse in our training sessions because in our games, when we have those adverse moments, we want to be able to be more successful. Having to finish off a game 2-1, that's very adverse because the other team is pressing and pushing numbers forward. They're playing very direct. Our team has done a good job handling what we've thrown at them and it showed in this game."
ECU had three goalkeepers combine to preserve the win. Melanie Stiles started in net, making a pair of saves in 61 minutes of action. Erin Bradley relieved her, playing 15:12 while Hayleigh Pack handled the final 13:25. The Pirates held a commanding 23-9 edge in shots and both teams took two corner kicks each.
ECU will hit the road for the first match of the regular season, traveling to Old Dominion for a 7:00 pm match on Friday, Aug. 17. The Pirates will host the first home match of the regular season two days later, when Radford comes to Greenville for a 7:00 pm match.
"We still have a lot of work to do," added Hamilton. "I think as a coach, you're never happy. We won the game, we fought hard. We got people some minutes that had not seen a lot yet. We need to have more depth, so the players on the bench can come in and be impactful and help us out when the players who play more need a rest. We saw that with some players that helped us. Overall, we have to be a team that outworks our opponents and we talked about that and I think today we won that battle. When you outwork your opponents and the game is close, you're going to come out with a win."
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