ECU Hosts UCF In Pivotal AAC Tilt

Match 17: UCF (6-5-1, 1-3-1 AAC) at East Carolina (7-7-2, 2-2-2 AAC)
Date	Thursday, October 21
Time	7:05 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. – Just two home games remain in the regular-season and the East Carolina soccer team will push for a playoff spot when they host UCF on Thursday night.

East Carolina (7-7-2, 2-2-2 AAC) is coming off a 2-2 draw at Tulsa. The Pirates fell behind the Golden Hurricane twice, once in each half. However, both times ECU was able to draw back level. Both goals came from the combination of Tori Riggs and Haley McWhirter, with Riggs getting an assist on McWhirter's first-half goal before McWhirter returned the favor on Riggs' equalizer in the second half. The tie stretched East Carolina's unbeaten streak to five matches (3-0-2), the longest stretch without a loss since a stretch of five-games to open the 2018 campaign.

The unbeaten streak has seen some great individual performances and East Carolina has earned multiple individual honors each of the last three weeks. McWhirter has been the headliners, winning the AAC Rookie of the Week award each of the past three weeks and leads the team with five goals and an assist for 11 points. McWhirter is just the fourth East Carolina rookie to score five goals in her freshman campaign and is just the second AAC player to win three consecutive Rookie of the Week honors. Maeve English has also been honored twice in that stretch, being named AAC Goalkeeper of the Week once and to the Weekly Honor Roll once. Morgan Dewey and Riggs have each earned a spot on the Honor Roll once. Dewey and Riggs have each moved into the top-10 in career assists at East Carolina, with Dewey up to tied for eighth with nine career helper while Riggs is tied for tenth with eight assists.

UCF (6-5-1, 1-3-1 AAC) will come to Greenville for its first game in 11 days. The Knights went into the break on a high note, beating Tulsa 3-0 for their first conference win of the season. The win snapped a three-match stretch that saw UCF pick up just a single point on a 1-1 draw at SMU, while losing to Memphis (2-1) and South Florida (2-1). The Knights have done a good job of sharing the ball, as they have 22 assists on their 23 goals. Kristen Scott leads the Knights with seven goals to go along with a pair of assists for a team-high 16 points. Ellie Moreno, despite missing a pair of games, is second on the team with 11 points on three goals and a team-best five assists. Darya Rajaee (three goals, three assists) and Mallory Olsson (four goals) are the other Knights with multiple goals. Caroline DeLisle was named the AAC Preseason Goalkeeper of the Year and she has started all 12 games, earning a pair of Goalkeeper of the Week awards along the way. DeLisle is second in the AAC with a save percentage of 0.829 and third in saves (63), save per game (5.25) and shutouts (four).

East Carolina has an all-time record 3-12-3 against UCF, but since Hamilton arrived in 2018, the series is deadlocked at 1-1-1. ECU beat UCF 2-1 in overtime in 2018, the Knights got revenge with a 1-0 win in Greenville in 2019 and the two teams played to a 1-1 draw in the 2021 spring season. English had a career-day in that tie, making a then-career high seven saves which helped earn her AAC Goalkeeper of the Week honors. Riggs and Dewey have both picked up assists against UCF in the past, with Riggs setting up goals in both 2018 and 2021 while Dewey had an assist in 2018. The Pirates are looking for their first home victory over the Knight since 2015 with ECU holding a 1-5-0 home record against UCF.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., on Thursday night and admission is free for all fans. Pirate Nation can also stream the match on ECUPirates.com and follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Dewey

Maeve English

Haley McWhirter

Tori Riggs

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