Pirates Prepare To Open 2021 Season

Friday, February 12

Greenville, N.C.

3:00 P.M.

East Carolina University

Furman

Photo by: Rob Goldberg

February 11, 2021 | Lacrosse

Watch Live Live Stats

Game 1: Furman (0-0) at East Carolina (0-0)
Date	Friday, February 12
Time	3 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Johnson Stadium)
Social Media	Twitter: @eculax Instagram: @eculax Facebook: ECU Lacrosse

Game 2: East Carolina (0-0) at Virginia (0-0)
Date	Monday, February 15
Time	4 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Charlottesville, Va. (Klockner Stadium)
Social Media	Twitter: @eculax Instagram: @eculax Facebook: ECU Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, N.C. - After 11 months without a contest, the ECU lacrosse team will take the field once again, opening its season with two games in four days. First, the Pirates will host Furman on Friday followed by traveling to Virginia on Monday afternoon.

ECU finished the 2020 campaign with a 5-3 record, matching the program's 2019 win total in nine fewer games. 2021 is the fourth season for the Pirates' program, giving ECU a full senior class for the first time. Preseason All-AAC selections Nicole LeGar and Liz Blumthal lead that 14-player senior class which also includes top goal scorers Megan Pallozzi and Ally Stanton. LeGar is coming off a season which she led ECU in points (25), caused turnovers (13), ground balls (17), draw controls (33) and finished tied for second in goals (16) and assists (9). Pallozzi led ECU with 17 goals while Stanton had 11 goals after leading ECU in scoring in each of her freshman and sophomore campaigns.

Blumthal made the switch to defense in 2020 and had a major impact on that side of the field. Blumthal was second on the team in ground balls (13) and third in caused turnovers (10). Along with Blumthal, Amy Jarvis, Jordyn Cox and Sam Caputo return after starting all eight games in the defense in 2020 while Cece Bartley also comes back after finishing second on the team with 11 caused turnovers.

A trio of freshmen made major contributions in their abbreviated rookie seasons. Ashley Vernon started all eight games in the cage and had a save percentage of .423, allowing just 10.8 goals per game. Vernon was named the AAC Defensive Player of the Week after making nine saves in a win over Campbell. Along with Vernon, Ellie Bromley and Frances Kimel each started at least seven games. Bromley finished fourth on the team with 12 goals while Kimel finished second with 18 draw controls.

Rounding out the top returning scorers are Megan Tryniski and Mackell Schultes. Tryniski had a breakout sophomore season, finishing second on the team in both points (23) and goals (16). The Cicero, N.Y., native set a new ECU single-game record when she racked up eight points on four goals and four assists in ECU's victory at VCU. Schultes set a new career-high with 19 points on eight goals and 11 assists and also scooped up 10 ground balls.

Furman finished 2020 with a 3-4 overall record, including 0-2 on the road. The Paladins were picked to finish second in the Southern Conference in the league's preseason poll. Furman had four players earn Preaseason All-Conference honors in that poll, led by Hannah Demis. Demis returns after finishing ninth in the country with 20 assists. Sydney Catts is the top returner in the draw circle for the Paladins, finishing with 11 draw controls a season ago. Meghan Deehan returns after starting all seven games in 2020, finishing with a save percentage of .375 and a goals against average of 13.57.

It will be the second consecutive season the Pirates have opened against the Paladins. Last year, ECU fell 14-11 in Greenville, S.C. After trailing by three goals at halftime, ECU came back to tie the contest at 8-8 in the second half, but Furman used a 6-0 run to pull away for the victory. Stanton had three goals to lead the Pirates in scoring while LeGar pitched in with two goals, an assist, four draw controls and four caused turnovers. It was the collegiate debut for Vernon, who made four saves.

The Cavaliers finished the 2020 season with a 5-3 record and were ranked No. 19 in the final RPI rankings. Virginia was picked to finish in fourth in the AAC in the Preseason Coaches Poll and Ashlyn McGovern was named both a Preseason All-ACC Attacker as well as an honorable mention Preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse. She is the top-returning attacker after scoring 15 goals in 2020. Courtlynne Caskin is another top returner for Virginia, having racked up 21 points and 26 draw controls last year.

Monday's contest will be the first-ever meeting between ECU and Virginia. ECU will be looking for its first win against an ACC opponent. The Pirates are 0-3 against Duke and 0-1 against North Carolina, the only times they have battled a team from the Atlantic Coast. Conference.

ECU's battle with Furman will get started at 3 p.m., on Friday afternoon and will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Pirates will take on Virginia at 4 p.m., on Monday afternoon in Klöckner Stadium.