Pirates Open 2020 Season At Furman And Presbyterian

Game 1: ECU (5-12 in 2019) at Furman (11-8 in 2019)
Date	Friday, February 7
Time	6 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Greenville, S.C. (Paladin Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter: @ecuwlax Instagram: @ecuwlax Facebook: ECU Women's Lacrosse

Game 2: ECU (5-12 in 2019) at Presbyterian (1-19 in 2019)
Date	Sunday, February 9
Time	12 noon (EDT)
Location	Clinton, S.C. (Old Bailey Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats
Social Media	Twitter: @ecuwlax Instagram: @ecuwlax Facebook: ECU Women's Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Heading into the third season in program history, the ECU lacrosse team will try to open the campaign on a high note as the Pirates head to Furman and Presbyterian.

ECU had a three-win improvement in 2019, up to a 5-12 record after going 2-15 during the inaugural season. The Pirates will be looking for continued improvement as they bring back all 11 Pirates that scored a goal last season as well five defenders that started at least 10 games each.

Leading the way will be 2019 Second-Team All-AAC Selection and 2020 Preseason AAC All-Conference pick Ally Stanton. Stanton has set the ECU record in points in each of her two seasons, finishing with 39 points on 26 goals and 13 assists in 2019. Despite not starting a game, Brittany Borchers finished second on the team with 36 points on 16 goals and a school-record 20 assists. Rounding out the Pirates with at least 30 points was Nicole LeGar, as LeGar scored a team-high 27 goals to go with six helpers. LeGar was also ECU's top option at the draw circle, grabbing 62 draw controls.

Megan Pallozzi was named to the inaugural Preseason AAC All-Conference team prior to the 2019 season and had 24 goals and four assists last year. Emma Bowman is one of two seniors on the Pirate roster and had 20 goals a year ago. In their debut seasons in Greenville, Hannah Rzempoluch and Camryn Pennypacker were both major contributors. Rzempoluch finished with 15 goals and 13 assists and was named the AAC Freshman of the Week after a seven point opening weekend. Pennypacker had 18 goals and added 41 draw controls. She joined Rzempoluch in earning the conference's Freshman of the Week award after scoring the game-winning goal against George Washington.

A pair of newcomers will hope to follow in Rzempoluch and Pennypacker's footsteps in earning the conference's rookie of the week honors. Ellie Bromley arrives in Greenville after scoring 212 goals and handing out 76 assists for Apex High School in nearby Cary, N.C. Bromley was a two-time US Lacrosse All-American and will spend time in the Pirate midfield. At attack, France Kimel joins the Pirates after leading Cardinal Gibbons to four consecutive North Carolina State championships. Kimel was a prolific scorer, racking up 281 points on 113 goals and 168 assists during her prep career.

In the crease, ECU will have a mix of experience and youth competing for minutes. Christina White returns after starting all 17 games last year while Savvy Smith and Sophie Bandorick both gained experience during their freshmen campaigns. Ashley Vernon is the newcomer in the mix, arriving in Greenville after being named a 2019 US Lacrosse All-American as well as the South Jersey Goalie of the Year in both 2018 and 2019.

Sam Caputo, Jordyn Cox, Amy Jarvis, Hannah Melton and Lydia Carbuccia all started at least 10 games last year on the defensive end. Melton led the team with 17 caused turnovers while Cox had 11. Melton, Jarvis, Cox and Caputo all picked up at least 20 ground balls.

Furman is coming off an 11-8 season that saw the Paladins earn a share of the Southern Conference regular season title and fall in overtime in the conference championship game. Furman was picked to finish in second in the 2020 Preseason Coaches Poll. The Paladins will need to replace the production of the school's all-time leading goal scorer after Abby Shields graduated, but Furman does bring back Hannah Demis (30 goals, 37 assists) and Grace Pollak (50 goals, 15 assists) who were second and third in points last season. Along with Demis and Pollak, Sydney Catts (43 draw controls, 26 ground balls), Morgan Franklin (35 ground balls, 15 caused turnovers) and Avery Whitehead (35 ground balls, 19 caused turnovers) were named to the Preseason All-Southern Conference Team. It will be the first ever meeting between ECU and Furman.

Presbyterian struggled in 2019, going just 1-19. The Blue Hose got their only win of the season against Delaware State. Sarah Marshall returns after leading the team with 44 points on 30 goals and 14 assists. Alyssa Cooke had a team-best 25 draw controls while Kara Diclimente scooped up 22 ground balls. Kayla Koch returns in the crease after starting 12 games and making 108 saves. Like Friday's matchup with Furman, it will be the first time ECU takes on Presbyterian.

The Pirates will take on Furman on Friday night, with the contest slated to start at 6 p.m. Sunday's matchup against Presbyterian will get underway at 12 noon

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Players Mentioned

Sophie Bandorick

Brittany Borchers

Emma Bowman

Ellie Bromley

Sam Caputo

Lydia Carbuccia

Jordyn Cox

Amy Jarvis

Nicole LeGar

Hannah Melton

Megan Pallozzi

Camryn Pennypacker

Hannah Rzempoluch

Savvy Smith

Ally Stanton

Ashley Vernon

Christina White

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