Pirates Return Home for In-State Tilt with UNCW on Thursday

Game Five: East Carolina (1-2-1) vs. UNCW (2-2-0)
Date	Thursday, August 28
Time	6:00 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 \| UNCW
Social Media	Twitter: @ECUsoc \| Instagram: @ECUSoc \| Facebook: ECU Soccer

GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina soccer team returns home to welcome the UNCW Seahawks to Bill Clark Homes Field at Johnson Stadium for an in-state battle on Thursday evening. Opening kick is set for 6 p.m. as the game is free to attend for fans and will be available for streaming on ESPN+ for those unable to attend with Zach Berly on the call.

The contest will be the Pirates' annual Morgan's Message game.

What's at Stake
The Pirates will look to build upon their first victory against VCU last time out. Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram's five-point brace and career debutant goals by Holly Schlagel and Kyleen Bents propelled the team to a needed 4-0 victory in what turned into a dominant outing. A victory on Thursday would be the team's first home win of the season after splitting the prior two home contests with a draw and a loss. A win would also move the team back to .500 on the season with a weekend off looming before returning to action to begin September.

Scouting UNCW
The Seahawks enter the contest with a 2-2-0 record after falling to Ohio State, 1-0, on Sunday afternoon in Wilmington. Lilly Danner scored in the 33rd minute to help secure the win for the Buckeyes. UNCW has won both of their away contests this season (at UNCG 3-2 / at Coastal Carolina 2-1). Allie Planeaux leads the team with four points off two goals. Zoe Anderson leads the way defensively with 10 saves and a .833 save percentage.

Series History
East Carolina holds a 17-7-2 all time record against UNCW dating back to 1994, including a 11-3 record at home. The Pirates have won the past four contests since 2017. Their most recent matchup came last season where the Pirates won 3-0 in Wilmington. Kylie Alvarez, Sydney Schnell, and Emma Sheehan scored in the contest. The Seahawks last victory in the series came on September 17th, 2015 with a 2-0 decision.

Quite Some Time
In the Pirates 4-0 win at VCU on August 24, 2025 forward Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram recorded five points with two goals and an assist. Five points is most by any player in a single game since Carsen Parker scored two goals with an assist against SMU on March 21, 2021. Dolan Boodram added eight shots with six on target

The Woman In Charge
Last time out, Emily Buccilla earned her first career win as a head coach with a 4-0 win at VCU. The first female head coach in program history, Buccilla is the Pirates' sixth coach overall since the program's founding in 1994.

A Long Time Coming
Graduate student Holly Schlagel scored her long awaited first career goal after battle injury for most of her collegiate career. Schlagel's goal came in her 34th career appearance and four years and five days on from her first appearance (Aug. 19, 2021 vs. Old Dominion).

First Career Goal
Sophomore Kyleen Bents scored her first career goal in just her 51st minute of collegiate action in just her second career appearance on Sunday afternoon against VCU. Bents received a pass from Holly Schlagel at the top of the eighteen, cut to her right, and fired a shot that soared into the top right corner.

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.

Pirates Return Home for In-State Tilt with UNCW on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Kylie Alvarez

Kyleen Bents

Caitlen-Star Dolan Boodram

Holly Schlagel

Sydney Schnell

Emma Sheehan

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