Gameday: Pirates Finish Road Trip At Memphis

Game 10: ECU (5-2-2) at Memphis (9-1-0)
Date	Sunday, September 23
Time	1:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Memphis, Tenn. (Mike Rose Soccer Complex)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Watch
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUwsoccer Instagram: @ECUwsoccer Facebook: @ECUwsoccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – After dropping its first conference game of the season, the ECU women's soccer team will try to bounce back against the hottest team in the conference, as the Pirates travel to Memphis for a Sunday afternoon match.

"We definitely need to regroup after Thursday night and have a different mindset against Memphis," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "Physicality is a big part of the game and we aren't playing with any right now."

ECU (5-2-2) was coming off an 11-day layoff due to Hurricane Florence and the lack of sharpness showed in a 3-1 loss at Tulsa on Thursday night. The Golden Hurricanes took an early 1-0 lead in the first half and then took advantage of a pair of ECU mistakes in the second stanza to lead 3-0. Jayda Hylton-Pelaia scored off a pass from Cashlin Copley in the 86th minute to provide a consolation goal for ECU. It was Hylton-Pelaia's second goal in three games after not scoring in her first 40 collegiate games.

ECU will need to do a better job of converting its chances than it did on Thursday. The Pirates took 18 shots, 10 of which were on goal, but only mustered the one goal. Courtney Cash currently leads ECU with 11 points on five goals and one assist while Jenna Dages has nine points on four goals and an assist. Melanie Stiles has started all nine games in goal for ECU and has given up multiple goals just twice. Stiles has three shutouts this season and has a 0.97 goals against average.

Memphis (9-1-0) entered the conference schedule as the hottest team in the AAC and did not slow down with a 5-0 thrashing of Cincinnati on Thursday. The Tigers have now won seven straight games and have shutout opponents in nine of their ten games. Memphis is outscoring opponents 29-5 and have outshot opposing teams 194-64. Clarissa Larisey and Samantha Murphy have been the two top scoring threats for Memphis, as both have seven goals with Larisey adding an assist. Elizabeth Moberg has nine shutouts in goal for Memphis and has a goals against average of just 0.50. The Tigers have also committed 110 fouls and earned 76 corner kicks.

"Memphis leads the conference in fouls while we are second to last," Hamilton said. "That shows they play with intensity and aggressiveness. We got away with winning games without that in non-conference, but last night was a perfect example of what will happen in the AAC if you don't come to battle."

Memphis has historically been the better team in the ECU-Memphis series, leading 14-2-2. ECU did not beat the Tigers in the first 14 meetings between the two programs, going 0-12-2 in that span. ECU's first win over Memphis was a 2-1 overtime win in the 2014 AAC tournament quarterfinals. ECU also beat Memphis 3-0 in 2015. Last season, Memphis won 2-0 in Greenville. ECU is 1-6-1 all-time at Memphis.

"What they are doing is pretty special," added Hamilton. "Nine shutouts in 10 games is unheard of, but they are also putting up great offensive numbers over the last few games. We need to tighten up defensively and be more efficient in front of the goal on Sunday."

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., on Sunday afternoon in Mike Rose Soccer Complex. Fans can stream the match here or follow along with the live stats here.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Courtney Cash

Cashlin Copley

Jenna Dages

Jayda Hylton-Pelaia

Melanie Stiles

Footer