Pirates Set for Season Opener with Liberty on Thursday

Game One: East Carolina (10-4-7, 5-2-3 American in 2024) vs. Liberty (15-2-4, 6-1-2 CUSA in 2024)
Date	Thursday, August 14
Time	2:00 p.m. (ET)
Location	Greenville, N.C. (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 turns the page to 2025 when they welcome the Liberty Flames to Johnson Stadium at 2 p.m. on Thursday. The game is free to attend for fans and for those who cannot make it out, Zach Berly and Evan Budrovich will have the call on ESPN+.

The Pirates will be kicking off a new era this fall, finding themselves in the unfamiliar position of being the hunted following their 2024 American Conference Tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth. They'll do so with a new leader on the sidelines as Emily Buccilla takes the head coach's chair after seven years as an assistant coach for the Pirates. Buccilla will be leading a group with an intriguing mix of veteran returners and talented newcomers, including newly minted team captains Isabella Gutiérrez, Molly Thomas and Juliana Viera.

Scouting Liberty
The Flames look like a far and away favorite to reign supreme in the CUSA this season. Coming off of a 15-2-4 record a season ago—a season which saw the team rise as high as No. 24 in the nation in September—the team returns every player who started more than three games in 2024. Key players include Halle Engle who led the team with 27 points on 12 goals and three assists, Ivy Garner who had a team high eight helpers to go with her nine goals, and both goalkeepers who played meaningful minutes last season—Peyton Huber and Grace Workman.

Series History
The Pirates and Flames have met six times since their debut contest in 1994, with a 4-2-0 edge for ECU overall. The teams most recently met back in 2003 in Greenville, a 2-0 win for the Pirates. Meghan McCallion and Penny Perrott scored the goals in the win.

Watch List
Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram, Gutiérrez and Viera were named to the American Conference Preseason Watch List as the Pirate players to watch for conference honors this season.

The Expectations Game
The Pirates have been chosen fourth in the American Conference preseason poll, having garnered one first-place vote (Memphis and South Florida earned the remaining 10). The Pirates were chosen third a season ago before winning the American Tournament Championship.

Newcomers to Watch
The Pirates have a great group of new players for fans to know going into the season. Notable names include transfer Olivia Dietrich in goal, freshman Gia Spinetti on the back line, transfer AJ Mayock in the midfield, transfer Alyssa Tucker and rookie Izzy O'Connor in the forwards group.

International Duty
A couple of Pirates were involved with international play over the offseason. Guitiérrez was called up to team camp with the Mexican National Team in the spring and Viera played with the Uruguayan National Team in Copa América Femenina, helping the side to an historic run into the semifinals where they lost to eventual champion, Brazil. In the third-place game against Argentina, Viera assisted on a goal before scoring her first ever goal in international play. Uruguay unfortunately went on to drop the game on PKs, but concluded the tournament with historic success nonetheless.

Summer Play
The following Pirates played in summer leagues over the break: McKayla Wetsel (Wake FC, USLW), Alyssa Tucker (Wake FC, USLW), Lily Ridge (Wake FC, USLW), Isabella Gutiérrez (Wake FC, USLW), Sydney Cox (Wake FC, USLW), Kyleen Bents (Wake FC, USLW), Emma Sheehan (Asheville City, USLW), Juli Viera (Asheville City, USLW), Molly Thomas (Reading United AC, WPSL), Kayce Taylor (WFC, WPSL), Sofia Serrano (Las Vegas Ballers, WPSL), AJ Mayock (Peoria City Soccer, WPSL), Olivia Dietrich (Norco Rain FC, WPSL), Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram (Haringey Borough, London Eastern South), Lexi McGinnis (Racing Power FCUSA, UWS).

Home Sweet Home
The Pirates play their home contests in one of the most beautiful soccer facilities in Division I in 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

Kyleen Bents

Sydney Cox

Olivia Dietrich

Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram

Isabella Gutiérrez

AJ Mayock

Lexi McGinnis

Izzy O'Connor

Lily Ridge

Sofia Serrano

Emma Sheehan

Gia Spinetti

Kayce Taylor

Molly Thomas

Alyssa Tucker

Juliana Viera

McKayla Wetsel

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