Pirates Hold Off Temple for 2-1 Win in Conference Opener

Thursday, September 12

Philadelphia, Pa.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

4-0-3, 1-0-0

Temple

1-7-0, 0-1-0

East Carolina

Temple

Photo by: Aidan Wunderly

Pirates Hold Off Temple for 2-1 Win in Conference Opener

September 12, 2024 | Soccer

Box Score

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – The East Carolina soccer team battled to a 2-1 win over Temple on Thursday night to continue their longest unbeaten start to a season in program history rolling. Going on the road to start conference play, it was a tale of two halves but one which saw the Pirates hold on for the win.

In the 22^nd minute the Pirates (4-0-3, 1-0-0 AAC) looked to have broken through on a free kick delivery from Juliana Viera which, after a carom, ended up at the feet of Abby Sowa who drove the ball home. Alas, the flag went up for offside and the goal was waived off on a very, very close call.

The Pirates did finally get on the board in the 32^nd minute when Emma Sheehan threaded a perfectly weighted through pass to Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram who, after hitting the woodwork earlier in the game, made no mistake about it, dancing around keeper Tasmin Bynoe then doing a dance in celebration has her first career goal gave the team a 1-0 lead. Dolan Boodram looked like the budding star she is on Thursday evening, creating chance after chance for ECU before finally breaking through.

🌟 She's a STAR 🌟

Caitlen-Star puts the Pirates on the board and she's on the board with her first career goal!!

1-0 to the Pirates pic.twitter.com/TtH0WPO2GZ
— East Carolina Soccer (@ECUSoc) September 12, 2024

The team was able to extend the lead just before the halftime break as Samantha Moxie dribbled across from right to left and fired a lefty shot to the upper left corner of the goal. Bynoe was able to get a hand to it but wasn't able to do enough to deflect the strong shot over as it found its way to the back of the net for the two-goal margin. The goal was Moxie's first of the season.

💥 BANG 💥

Sam Moxie goes top bins to end the period and we take a 2-0 lead going into half!!

📺 > ESPN+ pic.twitter.com/85joAKj4sJ
— East Carolina Soccer (@ECUSoc) September 12, 2024

Temple (1-7-0, 0-1-0 AAC) got on the board just under two minutes into the second half when Carly Steinberg took advantage of a misplaced pass in the Pirates defensive third, getting behind the back line and managing to flip the ball over Maeve English for the score. The strike ended a streak of 485 minutes and 11 seconds without a goal allowed for the Pirates and was just the second goal allowed on the year.

The Owls remained on the offensive for much of the second half, despite the margins statistically for the game, the home side looked like they belonged on the pitch for the second 45 as they gave the Pirates all they could handle—including an impressive diving save from Maeve English.

Whew 😮‍💨

Maeve keeps us in front with a diving stop! pic.twitter.com/RVVby3F3De
— East Carolina Soccer (@ECUSoc) September 13, 2024

Despite the surge from Temple and some uneasy second-half play, the Pirates were eventually able to hang on to start American Athletic Conference play with a victory.

Notables

The Pirates won the battle in offensive statistics to the tune of a 16-8 margin on shots and 7-4 in shots on goal. The team earned four corners to Temple's three.
The now seven-game unbeaten streak is tied for the longest since a 13-game streak in 2008. The other seven game run also came under Gary Higgins in 2022.
The Pirates extended their unbeaten streak against Temple to five and win streak to four, having last lost to the Owls in 2019.

Up Next
The team will return to Greenville to host JMU for Alumni Day on Sunday at 1 p.m. in Johnson Stadium. The game is free to attend for fans as the Pirates celebrate 30 years of women's soccer at ECU.