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Pirates Take Pitch for
Soccer ’02 Men’s and Women’s programs
on the rise in Conference-USA
By
Ron Cherubini
©2002 Bonesville.net
Well, opening week isn’t just for football this week. The Pirates will be in
action on multiple fronts this last week in August. Both the men’s and
women’s soccer teams open the season on Friday and it will be interesting to
see what kind of steps the two teams will take this season…will they be big
or baby steps?
Here at
Bonesville, we want to be sure that we not leave out our football –
Eurostyle – brethren not be left uninformed. To that end, on Wednesdays this
fall, we will have our Soccer SuperPage for you, hosted by yours truly with
a little help from some friends: ECU coaches Devin O’Neill and Rob
Donnenwirth. We’ll try to keep you up on Conference USA as well, so that you
will always know what the pitch Pirates are up to.
Along the
way, we’ll touch base with some of the players to give you first-hand
insight into the teams.
Remember to
check in on Wednesdays as we take a look back over the week that was and
ahead to the games on the horizon.
Let me be
the first to say: Welcome Soccer Pirates, you have found your new online
home!
Now
on to the soccer.
On the
women’s side, the team is simply ready to play against someone other than
themselves. Despite a 3-1 loss to Old Dominion in exhibition play, the Lady
Pirates are ready to compete.
“The team
has prepared well over the last week,” ECU women’s coach Rob Donnenwirth
said. “I think they are tired of playing each other and are ready for
competition.”
The women’s
team is currently game-planning for High Point and Kent State.
“We are going
over situationals,” Donnenwirth said. “Game situations like late in the game
(and) a goal down…so we won’t have any surprises. We are also going over set
pieces – corner kicks, free kicks – so the freshmen will have a better
understanding.”
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Brian Deutsch (Photo: ECU SID) |
On the men’s
side, the Pirates gave up just one goal in a pair of exhibition wins, but
are not sure what that really means. They defeated Wofford (1-0) and
UNC-Pembroke (5-1) and are feeling very good about themselves as they enter
the season on the road at the Ohio State Nike Classic played in Columbus,
Ohio.
Coach Devin
O’Neill is cautiously optimistic but knows that the team’s two exhibition
games, though successful, are not a true barometer by which to judge his
club. The real assessment will be this weekend against an NCAA tourney
regular in Ohio State (Friday) and preseason No. 17 Penn State (weekend).
One thing for
sure for the men is that between Joe Ellington, Brian Deutsch, and Josh
Foltz, the team has some serious scoring ability. Ellington was the team’s
leading scorer last season and Deutsch has found the net already this season
in both exhibition matches.
Look for our
updates on Bonesville next week and as our Soccer Pages grow, more and more
about your soccer Pirates will be posted.
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Men's Soccer |
Women's Soccer |
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This
Week’s Slate:
Friday, Aug.
30: ECU vs Ohio State (Columbus, OH)
Sunday, Sept.
1: ECU vs Penn State (Columbus, OH)
O’Neill
says:
“This week
will be a great test for us (at the Nike Classic).We are confident, but
know that we will face real quality this weekend.”
Looking
Ahead:
Picked to
finish 10th by the C-USA coaches, the Pirates are not buying
it for a minute. With the team’s top four scorers back and riding the
momentum of a summer of building atop the UAB victory, the team is
convinced that a run at the tournament is not totally out of the
question. The opening week of the season has the Pirates paying a visit
to Big Ten country to take on a pair of Big Ten powers in Columbus,
Ohio.
Rewind:
2001 was a
roller coaster for the men’s team. The 7-11 record (3-7 in CUSA) was not
as demonstrative of the team’s improvement as it really was. A deeper
look reveals several milestone games for the Pirates, perhaps providing
true expectations this season. 2001 concluded on the highest of highs
with a 2-0 win over nationally-ranked (No. 15) UAB. The season also
included wins over conference rival Charlotte and ACC foe North Carolina
State – the first time ever for ECU.
On the
Pitch:
The Pirates
won their preseason game against Wofford, 1-0, on the strength of a goal
by junior forward Brian Deutsch in the 74th minute.
Goalie Roger Marvinney posted the shutout with three saves...In
the final scrimmage, the Pirates beat UNC-Pembroke 5-1 on goals from
Deutsch, Joe Ellington, Clyde Simms, Rob Cann,
and Reed Avren.
Sidelined:
No injuries
reported.
Around
C-USA:
No. 11 Saint
Louis gets first crack at an ACC club playing No. 24 Wake Forest in
Chapel Hill on Friday…On Saturday, TCU and Memphis square off in
Tennessee the first C-USA game…Conference USA had two teams ranked in
the preseason national soccer poll in No. 11 Saint Louis and No. 15
UAB…UAB was picked to win the C-USA title this season in preseason
voting.
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This
Week’s Slate:
Friday, Aug.
30: High Point at ECU
Sunday, Sept.
1: Kent State at ECU
Donnenwirth says:
“We
feel High Point & Kent State will be good tests for us. We have been
shuffling the midfield around and we probably won't get a good feel for
chemistry until we start playing more games.”
Looking Ahead:
The Pirates
are not expected to improve on last season’s finish as the league
coaches predicted a 7th place finish. However, the team
believes that making the tournament in Charlotte this season is an
attainable goal and depending on whether or not another player or two
steps up in the scoring department, the Pirates aim to move up into the
upper echelon of the conference.
Rewind:
The women may
have surprised some by making the tournament field in 2001, but it was
no surprise to the team. Posting a modest 10-8-1 record with a 6-4-0
league mark (good for a tie for 6th), the Pirates went on to
the tournament where it took rival Charlotte a 9-8 penalty kick decision
to knock the Pirates out. The Pirates opened conference play racing out
to a 4-1 league mark before tailing off down the stretch.
On the
Pitch:
The Pirates
dropped their preseason opener, 3-1, to old CAA foe Old Dominion. Though
there were plenty of scoring chances, the Pirates were unable to find
the twine until freshman Melissa Penney found the goal…Senior
forward Amanda Duffy was named to the preseason all-Conference
USA squad, selected by the league’s coaches. Duffy returns after leading
the league in six categories, including goals per game and points per
game.
Sidelined:
Faith Innis,
Jr., MF/F – will miss opener
Unicity
Dittmer, Sr., D – will miss opener
Rachael
Cabeceiras, So., D/MF – out for 1 month
Dara Nielson,
Fr., GK, shoulder – out 1 week
Around
C-USA:
UAB gets
the award for smartest scheduling to open the season as the Blazers are
in Hawaii for the opening weekend of play to take on Hawaii and to catch
another game against Wyoming…On Sunday, defending league champ
Cincinnati hosts No. 13 Florida in the league’s first game against a
ranked opponent…Marquette was picked to take the C-USA title this season
in preseason voting.
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