Pirates Open American Conference Play Hosting Tulsa on Thursday

Game Eight: East Carolina (2-3-2) vs. Tulsa (5-2-1)
Date	Thursday, September 11
Time	7:00 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 to kick of American Conference play as they host the Tulsa Golden Hurricane at 7 p.m. on Thursday evening on Bill Clark Homes Field at Johnson Stadium. The game is free for fans to attend but will be available for streaming for those unable to make it out on ESPN+ with Zach Berly and Brittany Hoyt on the call.

The contest will be the Pirates' annual Military and First Responders Appreciation Game.

What's at Stake
The Pirates will officially begin their title defense with the beginning of conference play. The team will be looking for their first home victory of 2025 and to get back to .500 on the season after dropping a 2-1 decision at Coastal Carolina on the road on Sunday. Lily Ridge scored her first career goal in the loss as the Pirates pushed hard down the stretch attempting to erase a two-goal halftime deficit. Though the team ultimately came up short, the strong finish is perhaps something to look to entering league play.

Scouting Tulsa
The Golden Hurricane enter the game with a 5-2-1 record after a 2-2 draw with Oral Roberts in their last outing on Sunday. Blaine Schutte and Addison Castleberry scored the team's two goals in the game. On the year, Schutte is second on the team in goals with five points to go with four assists while Jordan Frederick leads the squad with a whopping eight goals and four assists for 20 points in just eight games played. As a group, Tulsa is outscoring its opponents 23-12 this season.

Series History
The Pirates and Golden Hurricane have met 19 times since the series began in 2005 with a 10-5-4 edge all time for ECU. Last season's contest in Tulsa, a 1-0 victory, ended a three-game run of draws in the series dating back to the 2021 spring season. Lucy Fazackerley scored the contest's lone goal on an assist from Juliana Viera. Maeve English got the shutout win in goal with four saves made.

Not Superstitious, but A Little Stitious
For the fans who worry about that kind of thing, the Pirates' record by uniform color: Purple: 1-2-0 | White: 0-1-2 | Black: 1-0-0

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.

Pirates Open American Conference Play Hosting Tulsa on Thursday

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Players Mentioned

Maeve English

Lucy Fazackerley

Lily Ridge

Abby Sowa

Juliana Viera

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