Pirates Return Home To Host Vanderbilt

Game 9: (RV) Vanderbilt (7-2, 2-0 AAC) at East Carolina (3-5, 1-1 AAC)
Date	Friday, March 26
Time	4 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Johnson Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Live Video
Social Media	Twitter: @eculax Instagram: @eculax Facebook: ECU Lacrosse

Game 10: (RV) Vanderbilt (7-2, 2-0 AAC) at East Carolina (3-5, 1-1 AAC)
Date	Sunday, March 28
Time	12 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Johnson Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Live Video
Social Media	Twitter: @eculax Instagram: @eculax Facebook: ECU Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Following a split to open conference play, the East Carolina lacrosse team will return home to host Vanderbilt for a pair of games.

ECU (3-5, 1-1 AAC) opened its 2021 AAC slate with a 12-9 win over Old Dominion, the first conference victory in program history. The Pirates came close to completing the weekend sweep, but fell 13-12 in overtime. Nicole LeGar finished with weekend with eight points, scoring four goals with an assist on Friday and adding three goals on Sunday. Her second goal on Sunday gave her 100 points in her ECU career, becoming the first Pirate to reach the century mark. LeGar could soon have company in that club. Megan Pallozzi currently has 96 points in her Pirate career while Ally Stanton is at 90.

Pallozzi currently leads the Pirates with 19 goals and has added four assists for 23 points. Megan Tryniski is the other Pirate with more than 20 points, despite missing a pair of games. Tryniski has been the number one creator for East Carolina this season, handing out 12 assists to go with 10 goals. LeGar leads the team with 31 draw controls while fellow Preseason All-AAC selection Liz Blumthal leads the team in caused turnovers (10) and ground balls (16). In the cage, Ashley Vernon continues to be one of the best goalkeepers in the country. The sophomore is seventh in the nation in saves, with 70, and has made at least nine stops in her past six games and seven of her eight this season.

Vanderbilt (7-2, 2-0) is one of two teams that opened its AAC slate with a pair of victories, joining No. 12 Florida. The Commodores are currently receiving votes in the Inside Lacrosse poll and both of their losses came to teams ranked in the top-two of the country. Vanderbilt has won its last five games, the past two at Cincinnati by two goals in each game. Gabby Fornia leads Vanderbilt in points with 33. She has been one of the best providers in the country, ranking second in the nation with 25 assists. Paige Gunning has also been one of the best players in the country, as the sophomore goalkeeper leads the NCAA with 88 saves. As a team, the Commodores lead the AAC in clearing percentage, getting the ball out of their zone 89.7% of the time.

This weekend will be the second and third time that East Carolina and Vanderbilt have met. The first contest came in 2019 and it was the inaugural AAC game for both schools. Vanderbilt took a 14-10 win in Johnson Stadium behind Fornia's three goals and two assists. LeGar had four points while Ally Stanton recorded a hat trick.

The two teams will first play on Friday afternoon at 4 p.m., and will be broadcast on ESPN+. They will battle once again on Sunday afternoon at 12 noon and that game will be shown on ECUPirates.com. All fans planning on attending either game can find ECU's current attendance policies here.

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Players Mentioned

Liz Blumthal

Nicole LeGar

Megan Pallozzi

Ally Stanton

Megan Tryniski

Ashley Vernon

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