Pirates to Host South Florida on Thursday

Game Thirteen: East Carolina (6-2-4) vs. South Florida (7-2-3)
Date	Thursday, October 10
Time	7 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Johnson Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats: Live Stats \| Video: ESPN+
Game Notes	East Carolina
Fact Book	2024 ECU Soccer Fact Book
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUsoc \| Instagram: @ECUSoc \| Facebook: ECU Soccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina soccer team will host South Florida for an exciting American Athletic Conference match on Thursday at 7 p.m. in Johnson Stadium. The Pirates will be looking to extend a two-game win streak while the Bulls will be looking to avenge their first ever home loss to ECU last season.

The game is free to attend for fans and Pirate Club donors can earn five priority points by attending the match. It is also the team's annual Pink Game with pink Pirate script shirts being given out to the first 200 fans. For those unable to attend, the game will be available for streaming on ESPN+ with the wordsmith himself, Zach Berly and the North Carolina Courage's Brianna Pinto on the call.

Come out and Join us Thursday, October 10 for our pink game! 🩷🎗️

The First 200 Fans in attendance will receive a Free Pink Pirates Script T-Shirt!#GoPirates pic.twitter.com/REY0lQuSdE
— East Carolina Soccer (@ECUSoc) October 8, 2024

Make an Impact
Pirate fans can bring donations for hurricane relief to the game as part of the ECU Athletics Collection Drive. Items needed include non-perishable foods, baby items, bug spray, sunscreen, trash bags, sanitation and hygiene items, can openers and pet food.

Please help ECU athletics and @ecu_saac support donation efforts for Western North Carolina relief.

We will be collecting the donation items listed below during upcoming home athletic events.

More info: https://t.co/wkiWdS5ygG pic.twitter.com/5wFlx2Cw3f
— East Carolina Pirates (@ECUAthletics) October 2, 2024

The Stakes
Entering the game, Rice holds the conference lead with 12 points, East Carolina is in a three way tie (Memphis and North Texas) with 10 points and South Florida is just behind with eight. With a win, the Pirates will have a chance to solidify themselves into the race for the American Athletic Conference regular season crown. On the other side, a win pushes the Bulls back into striking distance. The Pirates still have games on the schedule with Rice and Memphis. That Rice contest will be a Halloween night thriller in Johnson Stadium—perhaps the facility attendance record will be at risk that night as well.

Last Time Out
Lucy Fazackerley scored her first goal of the season with a clinical header from the free-kick service of Juliana Viera to push the Pirates past Tulsa on the road last Thursday. Maeve English made four saves in the victory as the Pirates earned their seventh clean sheet of the season and a second-straight conference victory. The team also moves to 4-0-1 in road games on the season, remaining unbeaten away from Johnson Stadium.

Scouting South Florida
The Bulls enter the game with an impressive 7-2-3 record, with both losses coming to ranked opponents. Ranked third in the United Soccer Coaches South Region, the team is led offensively by Anna Sutter with six goals and a pair of assists and Micahela Hill with five goals and two assists as well. In goal, Leire Herraez Gallach has played the majority of the minutes for a stout defensive side with seven total shutouts and just nine goals allowed on the year, just five of which have been allowed by Herraez Gallach who boasts a .828 save percentage. The Bulls are clearly a dangerous side and the seeding implications of Thursday's match could hardly be higher.

Series History
The Bulls may have a 12-3-1 edge in the all-time series, but the Pirates got to write an awesome chapter in the meeting last season. It was a 2-0 road result, the team's first ever victory over South Florida in Tampa. Lucy Fazackerley scored a first-half goal in that game, assisted by an excellent Catherine Holbrook cross, before Abby Sowa buried a late penalty to put the game on ice. Notably, Maggie Leland entered the game in goal for 4:52 due to an injury to Maeve English, making a clutch save to keep the Pirates in front.

Weekly Honors
Maeve English was named Goalkeeper of the Week and Lucy Fazackerley was named Defensive Player of the Week on Monday. English made four saves in the shutout win at Tulsa while Fazackerley scored the game-winning goal, her first of the season.

Iron Woman
Abby Sowa has played in every game and not come off for a second since Oct. 17, 2021. She has played 4,800 consecutive minutes and has been on the pitch for all 1,080 minutes this season. That's two full seasons and 53 full games.

Iron Women II
Maeve English and Annabelle Abbott both rank in the top 10 in program history in career starts with 79 and 77 apiece. English remains on pace to finish atop the record book while Abbott has a fighting crack, if the Pirates make the conference tournament, to break the old record as well with six games remaining in the regular season. Madison Keller holds the current mark with 82 starts from 2005-08.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Annabelle Abbott

Maeve English

Lucy Fazackerley

Catherine Holbrook

Maggie Leland

Abby Sowa

Juliana Viera

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