Pirates Down #2 South Florida on PKs to Advance to American Title Game

Thursday, November 7

Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

4:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

9-3-7, 5-2-3

South Florida

12-2-5, 6-1-3

East Carolina

South Fla.

Photo by: Pete Wright

Pirates Down #2 South Florida on PKs to Advance to American Title Game

November 07, 2024 | Soccer

Box Score

LAKEWOOD RANCH, Fla. – It took two overtimes and five rounds of penalty kicks but when it was all over the #3 East Carolina soccer team upset #2 South Florida 1-1 (5-3 PKs) in the American Athletic Conference Semifinal Round on Thursday afternoon at the Premier Sports Campus. With the win, the Pirates advance to their first ever AAC title game on Sunday.

We don't ask how; we just ask the result. The Pirates were outshot by South Florida 27 to 11. South Florida earned 11 corners to ECU's two. But even after a 57th minute goal by Anna Sutter, the Pirates (9-3-7, 5-2-3 AAC) still found themselves down by just one goal.

South Florida (12-2-5, 6-1-3 AAC) had many chances to put it away but were unable to do so, resulting in the game being a single score away from level when Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram served a ball up from the right side of the pitch in the 84th minute. The pass found Sydney Schnell whose initial shot found the left post but remaining in play, directing back towards the center of the goal where the senior forward was able to get behind Bulls keeper Leire Herraez Gallach and put a foot to the ball and into the net.

Schnell's goal was her career-best, team-leading seventh of the season. More importantly, with 6:24 remaining, it gave the Pirates life. A fighting crack was all they ever needed and the ever-competitive ECU defense, along with the stellar play of Maeve English was able to usher the game into overtime.

In the run of overtime, it certainly looked at times like South Florida would find the winner. Serita Thurton got on the end of a long pass as the waning seconds subtracted from the first 10-minutes session, but her volleyed shot went too far over the net to trouble English.

In the 105th minute, the Bulls looked like they might have won it when, Sadie Sider-Echenberg ripped a volley to the upper left corner of the goal that against most every other keeper would have been a winner. Against the Greenville kid, playing in potentially her last game—fat chance. English rose to the occasion as she has so many times before to get a punch to the shot and give the Pirates hope.

The final minutes of the extra sessions were comparatively uneventful as the game marched destined for a penalty shootout.

After both teams scored their first PKs — Abby Sowa and Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram converting for ECU — and Emma Sheehan drilled her attempt down the middle, Gentiana Fetaj stepped to the spot for South Florida. She took her chance to the left side and English got it right, getting both hands firmly on the shot and pushing it out, away from goal.

Isabella Gutiérrez calmly converted for ECU fourth, as did Brooke Fabri for the Bulls with a game-ending save looming large.

That set up the final strike. Juliana Viera, the Uruguayan star, stepped up and fired left. Herraez Gallach got her hands on it, deflecting it back right, but it was struck with too much power. Fired in firmly it came off the gloves with spin and turned its way over the goal line and into the net for the winner.

Notables

The American Athletic Conference Championship Game appearance is ECU's first and the first in any conference for the program since the 2008 CUSA title contest.
English made five crucial saves in the win to keep the hot shooting Bulls in check.
The win in PKs was the first for the Pirates since a 2018 win against SMU, also 5-3.

Up Next
The Pirates will play #1 Memphis in the title game on Sunday at 2 p.m. The game will be broadcast on ESPNU.