Pirates Take on No. 3 Memphis in American Quarterfinal

Game 18: East Carolina (6-7-4, 4-4-2 American) vs. No. 3 Memphis (15-0-2, 9-0-1 American)
Date	Monday, Nov. 3
Time	7:30 p.m. (ET)
Location	Lakewood Ranch, Fla. (Premier Sports Campus)
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 face off against No. 3 Memphis in the American Conference Quarterfinal on Monday at 7 p.m. at Premier Sports Campus in Lakewood Ranch, Fla. The game will be available for streaming on ESPN+.

What's at Stake
It took a calamitous concurrence of improbabilities for the Pirates to fall to the eighth seed but needing all five Thursday results to go against them, sometimes the improbable possibility comes home to roost. So, ECU will begin their title defense looking to do something they've never done before: beat a top five foe. Then again, when the Pirates defeated then-No. 19 Memphis for the American Championship last season, it was the highest ranked win in program history, so perhaps in November in Florida, anything is possible.

Scouting Memphis
The Tigers enter the game with their highest ranking in program history at third in the nation and the lone remaining unbeaten team in NCAA Division I. That title is well earned with a 47-6 goal differential over their opponents averaging 2.76 goals to the good and just .35 allowed in 2025. The Tigers are second in the NCAA in goals against average and third goal differential. They are paced by Ashley Henderson's nine goals, but five Tigers have recorded five-or-more goals with five players totaling 16-or-more points. In goal, Abby Kudla has gotten most of the run and has only been asked to make 26 saves with eight solo shutouts for a team with 12 total clean sheets on the year. Memphis' shutout percentage is fourth in the nation.

Series History
The Pirates were on the wrong end of a 5-0 result to the then-No. 6 Tigers earlier this season in Greenville. Now, for the series dating back to 2002, Memphis owns a 20-4-4 record. However, in the most recent postseason meeting as fans well know, the Pirates emerged victorious with a 1-0 2OT result in the American Conference Championship Game last season in which Annabelle Abbott's golden goal sent ECU to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.

Iron Woman
Sofia Serrano remains the only Pirate to play every minute this season, now with 1,530 minutes played.

Not Superstitious, but A Little Stitious
Record by uniform color: Purple: 1-3-1 | White: 1-3-2 | Black: 4-1-1

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

Annabelle Abbott

Maeve English

Sofia Serrano

Abby Sowa

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