Pirates Fall at South Florida, 1-0

Thursday, September 18

Tampa, Fla.

7:00 p.m.

East Carolina University

3-4-2, 1-1-0

South Florida

6-4-0, 2-0-0

East Carolina

South Fla.

September 18, 2025 | Soccer

Box Score

TAMPA, Fla. – The East Carolina soccer team dropped a 1-0 decision to South Florida on Thursday evening at Corbett Stadium. The Pirates were outshot 19-5 in the game as the Bulls controlled possession and the lion's share of the chances.

The Bulls (6-4-0, 2-0-0) struck early in the 11th minute when Gentiana Fetaj set up a wide-open Yui Suetsugu in the right side of the box who struck with poise to the far post. Fetaj entered the game second in the American Conference in assists.

South Florida would have had a second in the 15th minute but for a great save by Olivia Dietrich. With Suetsugu weaving through the Pirates' (3-4-2, 1-1-0) defense to get one-on-one in close quarters with the keeper, Dietrich was up to the task, cutting off the angle and making the clean stop and collecting possession for herself.

Dietrich, to her credit, was asked a lot of, and made four saves to keep South Florida in check in the first half. The Bulls also hit the woodwork on their 11 first-half shots, once on a breakaway with the ball just missing off of the inside of the far post, but the teams settled for entering the break with just the 1-0 scoreline.

The Pirates got their first real chance of the game in the 60th minute when a three-on-two resulted in an open shot for Alyssa Tucker from the top of the 18. Her right footed shot had pace but sailed just high of the crossbar.

ECU had a pair of occasions in the second half with free kicks awarded in interesting positions but came up empty on both. As the minutes wound down, the Pirates remained unable to create any particularly testing chances or to build possession to challenge the Bulls defense.

One last gasp chance came with 21 seconds left when a foul was whistled in the attacking half and Dietrich came up to take. She played a great ball into the box and for a moment the ball was loose near the six, but a Bulls defender was able to get a boot to it to clear and seal the 1-0 decision.

Up Next: The Pirates will be off for a while before traveling to North Texas on Sept. 18 for a 2 p.m. contest.