Pirates Set for Sunday Tilt with UTSA

Game 16: East Carolina (5-6-4, 3-3-2 American) at UTSA (7-4-5, 3-2-3 American)
Date	Sunday, Oct. 26
Time	2:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	San Antonio, Texas (Park West Athletics Complex)
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 will be back in the state of Texas on Sunday at 2 p.m. as they take on the UTSA Roadrunners at the Park West Athletics Campus. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+ with Dylan Pescatore and Callum Riley on the call.

What's at Stake
The Pirates continue their pursuit of clinching a spot in the American Conference Tournament after a 1-1 draw with Rice on Thursday. The team currently sits at 11 points in seventh place. Eight teams make the conference Tournament with Memphis, Charlotte and Rice already earning their spots. Memphis has already claimed the top seed while. UTSA meanwhile is one spot ahead of the Pirates with their 12 points. The second through seventh teams in the current standings are separated by just three points.

Scouting UTSA
The Roadrunners enter with a 7-4-5 record and a 3-2-3 mark in league play after dropping a 2-0 contest to No. 4 Memphis on Thursday. On the year, Zoë May leads the team with 10 points on four goals and a pair of assists as nine players have contributed to the group's 16 goals. On the other side, Jasmine Kessler has gotten the majority of run in goal with 65 saves made to just 11 goals allowed.

Series History
The Pirates and Roadrunners met for the first time last season, a 2-0 UTSA victory in Greenville. Tyler Coker scored in the first half before Sasjah Dade put the game away in the second half to secure the victory. Despite the scoreline, the Pirates controlled the game statistically with a 19-6 margin in shots but put just two of those tries on frame as the Roadrunners finished their opportunities clinically to earn the result.

¡Buena suerte Juli!
The Pirates will be without Juliana Viera this week as she steps away for national team duty with Uruguay in the CONMEBAL Women's Nations League. She will be competing for her home country in an Oct. 28 match against Argentina. The CONMEBOL Women's Nations League is a World Cup qualifying event for the 2027 FIFA Women's World Cup in Brazil. Qualifying is taking place from Oct. 24, 2025 to June 9, 2026.

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

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Players Mentioned

Maeve English

Abby Sowa

Juliana Viera

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