Pirates Host Memphis On Senior Day

Match 18: No. 23 Memphis (10-3-1, 4-2-0 AAC) at East Carolina (7-8-2, 2-3-2 AAC)
Date	Sunday, October 24
Time	12:05 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. – Senior Day is here for the East Carolina soccer team as the Pirates will honor the team's seven seniors before taking on No. 23 Memphis at 12 noon on Sunday afternoon in Johnson Stadium.

East Carolina (7-8-2, 2-3-2) saw its five-match unbeaten streak come to an end as the Pirates fell to visiting UCF 2-0 on Thursday night. The Pirates outshot the Knights 16-7 and saw Haley McWhirter hit the post and Samantha Moxie crash a shot off the crossbar, but it was UCF who was able to find the back of the net. The Pirates currently sit in fifth in the AAC standings, with eight points. The Pirates are looking to hold onto a spot in the top-six and a berth in the AAC Championship, but have only one game left while everyone but current league-leader South Florida has a pair of games remaining.

Among the seven seniors being honored on Sunday will be Kim Sanford and Tori Riggs, both of whom are climbing the career leaderboards at East Carolina. Sanford will tie the East Carolina record for career appearances when she plays against Memphis. She will tie Rachel Fuller with 83 games played and with a start, would move into a tie for fifth with 78 career starts. Tori Riggs is right behind Sanford as she became the 12th Pirate with 80 career appearances after starting against UCF. Riggs has nine points this season on four goals and an assist, giving her 32 career points on 12 goals and eight helpers. She is the 17th player in ECU history to reach 30 career points and she is tied for tenth in career assists. Also in the top-ten for career assists is Morgan Dewey, with Dewey tied for eighth all-time after racking up nine assists in just 47 career games. Joining Sanford, Dewey and Riggs in being honored will be Alexia Moore, Meaghan Haley, Addison Salz and Morgan Everett.

No. 23 Memphis (10-3-1, 4-2-0) comes in on the worst stretch of its season, having lost consecutive matches for the first time all year. After a perfect start to conference play, the Tigers have lost against South Florida 1-0 in double overtime and 1-0 at Houston, as the Cougars scored the game-winner in the 89th minute. The game at Houston was the first time this season that Memphis has been outshot, as the Tigers' defense has been dominant this season. Memphis has allowed just 0.553 goals per game, a number that ranks 11th in the country and first in the AAC. The Tigers are undefeated when they get on the scoreboard and have allowed multiple goals just once. On the offensive end, Memphis is fourth in the country in corner kicks, taking eight per game and 22nd in shots per game, taking 18.71. Elzabeth Moberg has started the whole season in goal and she is 15th in the country and second in the AAC with a goals against average of .584. Offensively, Tanya Boychuk leads the team with 13 points on six goals and an assist, with a team-high three game-winning goals. Saorla Miller is the other Tiger with double-digit points, racking up four goals and two assists for 10 points.

Memphis leads the all-time series between the two schools 16-2-3, but each of the past two matchups have been very tight. Last spring, the Tigers earned a 1-0 home win while in 2019, then-No. 8 Memphis came to Greenville and the Pirates earned a 1-1 draw. It will also be Senior Day for the Pirates and East Carolina is 5-2-0 in the final home match of the season since joining the AAC in 2014. The two losses came in 2019 and 2016, both were against ranked opponents. It is also the second time in that span that ECU has played Memphis on Senior Day, with the Pirates winning 3-0 in 2015.

Kickoff is scheduled for 12:05 p.m., on Sunday afternoon and the team will hold a pregame ceremony for the team's seven seniors. The match will be broadcast on ESPN+ and the fans can follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Morgan Dewey

Morgan Everett

Meaghan Haley

Haley McWhirter

Alexia Moore

Samantha Moxie

Tori Riggs

Addison Salz

Kim Sanford

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