Gameday: ECU Starts AAC Play At Tulsa

Game 9: ECU (5-1-2) at Tulsa (4-4-1)
Date	Thursday, September 20
Time	8:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Tulsa, Ok. (Hurricane Stadium)
Information	Game Notes (PDF)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUwsoccer Instagram: @ECUwsoccer Facebook: @ECUwsoccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After an 11-day layoff due to weather, the ECU women's soccer team returns with its first AAC game of the season. The Pirates travel to Tulsa for a Thursday night match, with kickoff scheduled for 8:00 p.m.

"Away games are tough and conference games are tough," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "Put them together and it is an extremely hard challenge. Everyone wants to take advantage of being at home. We just have to come out with energy and show that we aren't bothered by being on the road."

ECU has started the season with a 5-1-2 record, including winning all four of its home matches. The Pirates are currently on a two-game winning streak after beating Campbell (2-0) and Charlotte (3-0). It was the first time ECU had collected consecutive shutouts since recording three straight clean sheets from Aug. 27 to Sept. 3 during the 2017 season. The Pirates are currently ranked No. 7 in South Region by the United Soccer Coaches Poll.

Courtney Cash leads ECU with 11 points on five goals and one assist. Right behind her is Jenna Dages with nine points on four goals and an assist. Cash is tied for second in the conference in goals while Dages is eighth in goals and is tied for the AAC lead with a pair of game-winning goals. On the backline, Jayda Hylton-Pelaia is coming off being named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week after she helped ECU record a pair of shutouts and racking up a goal and an assist in the two wins. Joining Hylton-Pelaia in being honored last week was goalkeeper Melanie Stiles. Stiles made ten saves in the two shutouts to earn an honorable mention spot on the Top Drawer Soccer Team of the Week. Stiles has a save percentage of 0.833 and a goals against average of 0.728, both of which is third in the conference. Her three shutouts are the second-most in the AAC.

Tulsa comes into the weekend with a 4-4-1 overall record. The Golden Hurricanes have played the majority of their schedule at home so far, going 3-3-1 in Hurricane Stadium and just 1-1-0 in road and neutral matches. The most recent weekend of play had Tulsa beating Oral Roberts 3-1 before falling to Kansas State 3-0. Anna Williams leads the team with 11 points on four goals and three assists while Mia Darden is right behind with 10 points of her own. Mica Mackay has started seven of Tulsa's nine games in the goal and has 34 saves. Mackay owns a 1.40 goals against average and a .756 save percentage. The Golden Hurricanes were picked to finish in ninth in the AAC preseason poll, one spot behind ECU.

"We have to limit Tulsa's opportunities in the game and take advantage of any looks we get," Hamilton said. "That's what conference play is all about. The games will be tighter and the team that is more efficient and makes the least amount of mistakes will win."

ECU and Tulsa each have four wins in the all-time series between the two programs. Last season, ECU collected a 1-0 home win over the Golden Hurricanes. Cash scored the game's only goal in the Pirate victory. Since the two programs joined the AAC, the matchup is tied at two wins apiece, with ECU winning in 2017 and 2014 and Tulsa winning in 2016 and 2015. ECU is 3-2 all-time in Tulsa.

Kickoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Thursday. Fans can stream the match here or follow along with the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Courtney Cash

Jenna Dages

Jayda Hylton-Pelaia

Melanie Stiles

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