Undefeated ECU Preps For No. 8 Duke

Game 5: East Carolina (4-0) at No. 8 Duke (5-0)
Date	Monday, Feb. 28
Time	5 p.m. (EDT)
Location	Durham, N.C. (Koskinen Stadium)
Coverage	Live Video
Social Media	Twitter: @eculax Instagram: @eculax Facebook: ECU Lacrosse

GREENVILLE, N.C. – Riding the best start in program history, the East Carolina lacrosse team will travel to No. 8 Duke on Monday night.

East Carolina (4-0) was tied with George Mason at halftime, but the Pirates outscored the Patriots 8-2 in the second half to stay undefeated on the season. ECU is off to the best start in the program's five-year history, having never won more than its first two games to start a season prior to this year. The Pirates have outscored its four opponents a combined 66-24, scoring at least 13 goals in each victory. Frances Kimel leads the team in points, having racked up nine goals and a team-high 12 assists for 21 points. Kimel was named to the AAC Weekly Honor Roll last week after a combined 12 points in two games and followed it up with five points in the win over George Mason. Megan Tryniski is second on the team in points, with 17 on 10 goals and seven assists. The third Pirate with at least 10 points is Nicole LeGar, who is tied with Tryniski for the team-lead in goals, with 10 while handing out a pair of assists. LeGar became the second player in ECU history to reach 100 career goals during the Presbyterian win and she was named the AAC Midfielder of the Week after scoring a hat trick in the opening win over Radford.

LeGar is not just a scorer, as she holds the ECU career record in draw controls and she is leading ECU in that category once again, with 24. Flynn Reed is second on the team in draw controls, with 18 this season. Alexandra Giacolone has been a menace on the defensive end, leading the Pirates with 10 ground balls and seven caused turnovers. Giacolone joined Kimel on the AAC Weekly Honor Roll last week, as part of a trio of Pirates who were honored. The third was Leah Bestany, who was named the AAC Rookie of the Week and has six goals and an assist this year, all in the last three games. In the goal, Brynn Knight and Sophie Bandorick have split time. Knight has started all four games, making 15 saves with a save percentage of 48.4%. Bandorick has taken over at halftime of each game and she has made 28 saves with a save percentage of 80.0%.

Duke (5-0) is off to a dominant start, outscoring its first five opponents a combined 112-30 and scoring at least 20 goals in each victory. The Blue Devils' success starts at the draw circle, where they are ranked second in the country in draw controls (21.2 per game) and third in draw control success rate, winning 70.2% of their draws. Maddie Jenner is the leader there, ranking first in the country with 14.60 draw controls each game. Catriona Berry is the top scorer for Duke, leading the country with 26 goals, while Katie DeSimone is second with 23 goals of her own. Oliva Carner, Berry and Eva Greco are all in the top-six of the nation in assists, with Carner third at 10 helpers while Berry and Greco are both sitting on nine assists to rank sixth. In the cage, Sophia LeRose has started all five games, making 13 saves with a save percentage of 41.9%. Kennedy Everson has also played in all five games, making 11 saves with a save percentage of 57.9%. Cubby Biscardi leads the team with nine caused turnovers while DeSimone and Katie Cosgrove each have a team-high 10 ground balls.

The connections between Duke and East Carolina run deep. Duke is coached by Kerstin Kimel, the mother of East Carolina's Kimel. The younger Kimel has seen individual success against her mom's squads, scoring a goal in each matchup, but the elder Kimel has gotten the last laugh with a pair of victories. East Carolina head coach Amanda Moore spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Kimel's staff at Duke and is looking for her first victory against her former boss, having gone 0-4 against the Blue Devils. Finally, Sam Caputo's father is on the staff of the Duke men's lacrosse team.

The Pirates are 0-4 against Duke, having played twice in Durham and twice in Greenville. The Blue Devils are one of three ACC teams that East Carolina has played in their short history. ECU is 0-1 against both North Carolina and Virginia.

Monday's game will get started at 5 p.m., at Duke's Koskinen Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ACC Network Extra with Ben George and Taylor Scotten on the call and fans can follow the live stats here.

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Players Mentioned

Sophie Bandorick

Leah Bestany

Sam Caputo

Alexandra Giacolone

Frances Kimel

Brynn Knight

Nicole LeGar

Flynn Reed

Megan Tryniski

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