Pirates Set to Host No. 6 Memphis on Sunday

Game 14: East Carolina (5-5-3, 3-2-1 American) vs. No. 6 Memphis (12-0-2, 6-0-1 American)
Date	Sunday, Oct. 19
Time	12:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (Bill Clark Homes Field at Johnson Stadium)
Coverage	Live Stats: Live Stats \| Video: ESPN+
Game Notes	East Carolina
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUsoc \| Instagram: @ECUSoc \| Facebook: ECU Soccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina soccer team returns home on Sunday afternoon to take on the No. 6 Memphis Tigers at 12 p.m. on Bill Clark Homes Field at Johnson Stadium. The game is free to attend for fans and for those unable to make it out it will be available for streaming on ESPN+ with Zach Berly and Evan Budrovich on the call.

What's at Stake
The Pirates will be chasing a needed bounce back after a loss at UAB on Sunday, and a result against these Memphis Tigers would be a monumental one. In program history, ECU has never earned a result against a top 10 opponent. Memphis surely will be keen on avenging their American Conference Tournament loss to the Pirates last season and a top-class side such as these Tigers hardly ever needs such motivation. Still, there are key standings implications in this game with the Pirates just two points back of second place in the conference with their 10 points.

Scouting Memphis
The Tigers are as good as ever this season with a 12-0-2 record and a 6-0-1 mark in league play as they have well earned their No. 6 ranking nationally by United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawer Soccer. On the season, Ai Kitagawa has paced the group scoring with 19 points on eight goals and three assists with Ashley Henderson and Ellis Kelly also scoring five goals. On the other side of the ball, Abby Kidla has gotten the majority of run in goal, allowing only six goals with 23 saves made.

Series History
The Pirates and Tigers have met 27 times since the series began in 2002 with a clear edge for Memphis, 19-4-4. The Pirates got the edge last season, however, with a 1-1 draw on the road in the regular season followed by a 1-0 overtime victory in the American Championship Game in which Annabelle Abbott scored the game-winning goal to send ECU to their first ever NCAA Tournament.

Senior Day
Sunday will be the Pirates annual senior day, honoring the class of: McKayla Wetsel, Sofia Serrano, Molly Thomas, Isabella Gutiérrez, Juliana Viera, Emma Sheehan, Maddie Milliron, Mackenna Gregory and Holly Schlagel.

Weekly Honors
AJ Mayock received an Honorable Mention nod for her brace against UAB on Sunday. Mayock's performance was her first career multi-goal game.

Not Superstitious, but A Little Stitious
Record by uniform color: Purple: 1-3-0 | White: 1-2-2 | Black: 3-0-1

The Woman in Charge
After seven seasons as an assistant, Emily Buccilla takes the reins as head coach in 2025. She is the first female head coach in program history.

Pirates in the Pros
Two recent East Carolina alumnae have recently signed professional contracts with Maeve English joining AO Rethymniaki Enosi Athliton on the isle of Crete, competing in the Greek Division A. Meanwhile, Abby Sowa inked a contract with Rekord Bielsko-Biała in Poland's Orlen Superliga. Notably, Sowa will be competing in the same league as former Pirate teammate Kim Sanford.

Home Sweet Home
The Pirates play their home contests in one of the most beautiful soccer facilities in Division I in Bill Clark Homes Field at Johnson Stadium. Recently outfitted with a new scoreboard and state-of-the-art LED lighting, the venue is a great place to watch a game whether it's an early season matinee or a conference thriller under the lights. Pirate Nation has played their part of late, too. Five of the top 10 attended games in program history have come since head coach Emily Buccilla arrived in Greenville with three coming in just the past three seasons, including the all-time record of 1,335 attendees when the Pirates hosted then-No. 2 Duke in 2022.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Annabelle Abbott

Maeve English

Mackenna Gregory

Isabella Gutiérrez

AJ Mayock

Maddie Milliron

Holly Schlagel

Sofia Serrano

Emma Sheehan

Abby Sowa

Molly Thomas

Juliana Viera

McKayla Wetsel

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