Gameday: Pirates Host USF On Senior Day

Game 17: USF (11-3-0, 6-1-0 AAC) at ECU (5-9-2, 2-4-1 AAC)
Date	Sunday, October 27
Time	1:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Johnson Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Live Video
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUsoc Instagram: @ECUSoc Facebook: @ECUwsoccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – With two regular season games left, the ECU soccer team will look to make a playoff push as the Pirates host USF on Sunday afternoon in Johnson Stadium.

"USF is again one of the top teams in the conference and has been receiving votes in the top-25 all year long," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "We have to be able to come out and play with the intensity that we did against UCF. Our players played with a little more desperation and urgency last game and knowing that we need some points out of these last two games, we expect to see that again."

ECU (5-9-2, 2-4-1 AAC) is clinging to the sixth and final AAC playoff spot after dropping a hotly contested 1-0 loss to UCF on Thursday night. The Pirates had one of their better performances against the Knights, outshooting them 9-5 in the second half, but could not get a result. Melanie Stiles made five saves against the Knights and is now up to 75 on the year, placing her third in the conference. Tori Riggs leads the Pirates with 10 points on four goals and two assist.

Sunday will be Senior Day for ECU and the Pirates will honor Marianna Shurina, Daria Draovitch and Jenna Dages as they play their final game in Johnson Stadium. Shurina has played in all 71 games during her four seasons in Greenville and has played a career-high 1,383 minutes this season while handing out a career-best two assists. Draovitch has led ECU with nine assists during her three ECU campaigns, including a team-best five helpers during the 2018 campaign. Since arriving from Louisiana Tech prior to the 2018 season, Dages has bagged five game-winning goals and nine goals overall.

UCF (11-3-0, 6-1-0 AAC) has only one blemish in conference play, dropping a 2-1 game to league-leading Memphis. The Bulls are led by Evelyne Viens who recently set a new American Athletic Conference record with her 62nd career goal. Viens has racked up 15 goals and 33 points, both of which lead the league. Andrea Hauksdottir is tied for second in the conference with seven assists while Sydny Nasello has five. Katrina Haarmann and Sydney Martinez have split time in the goal for the Bulls and have combined for a goals against average of 0.91.

"USF is a very talented group with probably the most depth in the conference," Hamilton said. "They have one of the most dangerous players in the country up top and we have to be aware of her at all times. It will be a game where we need to execute the game plan that we have in place."

ECU has struggled against USF, going just 2-7-1 against the Bulls. The two teams met twice last season and USF won both games, one in the regular season and the other in the AAC Championship Semifinals. ECU's last win in the series came in 2004 and USF has won all seven matches between the two schools since the Pirates joined the AAC in 2014.

Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m., inside Johnson Stadium with a ceremony honoring the three seniors taking place beforehand. Fans can stream the match here or follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Jenna Dages

Daria Draovitch

Tori Riggs

Marianna Shurina

Melanie Stiles

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