Pirates Close Regular Season At Memphis

Sunday, April 11

Memphis, Tenn.

2:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

Memphis

Photo by: Houston McCullough

April 09, 2021 | Soccer

Game 10: East Carolina (3-4-2, 3-2-2) at No. 19 Memphis (7-2-0, 5-1-0)
Date	Sunday, April 11
Time	2:00 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Memphis, Tenn. (Track and Soccer Complex)
Coverage	Live Stats \| Live Video
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUsoc Instagram: @ECUSoc Facebook: @ECUwsoccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – With its playoff destiny in its own hands, the East Carolina soccer team will head to Memphis for a Sunday matinee.

"This is an exciting weekend in the conference with a lot on the line," said head coach Jason Hamilton. "Memphis is a very tough team and will want to build on their resume for the NCAA Tournament. To think we will get anything but their best performance would be foolish."

ECU (3-4-2, 3-2-2) is currently in third in the AAC standings with 11 points after beating Tulsa 4-0 in the final home game of the season. Madie Knaggs and Cashlin Copley both scored goals after being honored on Senior Day, while Annabelle Abbott and Catherine Holbrook each got their first career goals. Carsen Parker had two assists on the day, with Copley, Tori Riggs, and Sydney Schnell adding one helper each. On the other end, Maeve English made six saves, including a stop on a Tulsa penalty kick, to complete her second shutout of the year and earn her third AAC Goalkeeper of the Week award.

"We have had a good hard week of training and our team is in a good place," Hamilton said. "They know they have an opportunity to finish better than any prior ECU team has in the American."

Parker now leads ECU with four goals and three assists for 11 points, all of which are career-highs. Knaggs is the other Pirate with multiple goals, having set a career-best of her own with three goals this season. After slow starts, Copley and Riggs are both coming on strong for ECU. Riggs has a goal and two assists in her past four games while Copley earned a spot on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll after her performance against Tulsa. On the defensive end, Kim Sanford (743 minutes played), Morgan Dewey (716 minutes played) and Maycie McDougal (652 minutes played) all continue to be key pieces while Addison Salz has stepped in for Parker moving up to the forward position, with Salz playing every minute of the past four games.

Memphis (7-2, 5-1 AAC) is coming off a pair of games against ranked opponents, beating No. 6 Vanderbilt 3-2 in overtime before falling to No. 21 USF 2-1. That loss to the Bulls knocked Memphis out of first place in the AAC standings. Tanya Boychuk and Grace Stordy are the top scorers for the Tigers, each having scored three goals while adding an assist. Mya Jones has been a creative playmaker, racking up four helpers while adding a goal. As a team, Memphis averages the most shots per game in the AAC, shooting 16.11 times per night and averages 1.78 goals which is third in the conference. Defensively, Elizabeth Moberg has started all nine games and allowed just eight goals, recording 19 saves and five shutouts along the way. Kimberley Smit has also been a key part of the Tiger defense, being named AAC Defensive Player of the Week twice.

Memphis has historically dominated the series against the Pirates, going 15-2-3, but in 2019, the Tigers came to Greenville ranked No. 8 in the country and ECU played them to a 1-1 draw. Riggs got the only goal of the day for ECU as the Pirates got their second positive result against a ranked team since Hamilton took over prior to the 2018 campaign. Memphis will be the second ranked team on ECU's schedule this season, with the Pirates falling to No. 17 USF 1-0 in a hard-fought contest.

"With everything that has gone on over the past year, I am proud of where our group is at," Hamilton added. "We have positioned ourselves for a place in the top four and have a great opportunity in front of us."

Kickoff for Sunday's match is scheduled for 2 p.m., at Memphis' Track and Soccer Complex. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.