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ECU Soccer Gets Mixed
Results
Women start season perfect, men start with lessons from top teams
By
Ron Cherubini
©2002 Bonesville.net
It
was mixed set of results for the Pirate soccer teams this week as both
opened their seasons on Friday night.
For
the women, the schedule offered a pair of moderate contests against in-state
rival High Point and visiting Kent State. On the men’s side, the Pirates
opted to cut to the chase by heading up to Big Ten country to take part in
the Ohio State NIKE Classic in Columbus, OH.
In
virtual monsoon conditions, the women adjusted to the standing water on
Bunting Field to post a pair of mirror-like 3-1 wins over their two
opponents. Preseason All-CUSA selection Amanda Duffy tallied once and added
an assist, but the spotlight was clearly absorbed by true freshman Meghan
McCallion, who lived up to her expectations by tallying herself and adding
two assists in the High Point win and then coming back on Sunday and
tallying against Kent State. Not a bad weekend for the frosh. Sarah Stoltz
also chipped in a pair of goals over the weekend to make her presence felt.
The
2-0 start gives the team the proper momentum heading into a grueling
six-game road trip which starts off right away with games against Big East
power Virginia Tech and SEC power South Carolina in the Charlotte Classic
Soccer Tournament this weekend.
The
men (0-2) took it on the chin twice, but probably are better off for the
ware, as they head into their first league match on Saturday at South
Florida in Tampa. Facing NCAA tournament regular and NIKE Classic host Ohio
State, the Pirates found themselves breaking down at the most inopportune
times and the Buckeyes made them pay with two tallies. The Pirates appeared
to get their offensive legs a bit in the Sunday game against No. 17 Penn
State, but fell 4-2.
Brian Bostian and Clyde Simms both contributed goals over the weekend.
The
experience gained against two of the nation’s better clubs should pay
dividends for ECU this week. South Florida is not the same caliber as Ohio
State and Penn State and now that the Pirates have their legs, look for
juniors Joe Ellington and Brian Deutsch to be more involved up front and on
frame.
NOTEBOOKS:
This Week’s Slate:
Saturday, Sept. 7: ECU
at South Florida (CUSA game)
Wednesday, Sept. 11:
Elon at ECU
Last Week:
Ohio State 2, East
Carolina 0 at Nike Classic in Columbus, OH
No. 17 Penn State 4,
East Carolina 2 at Nike Classic in Columbus, OH
O’Neill says:
“I think that we gave a solid effort over the
weekend. I was encouraged with the competitiveness and determination of the
team. We need to do a better job defensively. We tended to lose marks at
critical moments in our penalty box.”
Looking Ahead:
ECU opens its Conference-USA slate on Saturday when
the team heads to Tampa to take on league newcomer South Florida (1-0-0),
which blanked Stetson 1-0 in its opener. Then on Wednesday, the Pirates jump
back out of conference to host Elon (0-1-0, losing to UNC-W 1-0). In South
Florida, the Pirates face a strong defensive backline and a solid goalie in
Tony Perkins, who recorded his 8th career shoutout last week. In
Elon, the Pirates face a club considered a Big South Conference contender
this season. The team returns 13 lettermen including all-leaguer defender
Devin McCanon and offensive threat Paul Bellacqua who tallied seven times in
2001. The Pirates look to end a two-game losing streak and to see how much
playing against top teams will translate into a success in the near term.
According O’Neill, the team’s morale is up and practice has been good
heading into the South Florida game.
Rewind:
The Pirates trek to Big
Ten country to take part in the Ohio State Nike Classic failed to yield
victory, but it may have helped prime the team for a run in the conference.
Losing to perennial NCAA tourney team Ohio State (2-0) and preseason No. 17
Penn State (4-2) has allowed the team to gain some true game experience
against big-time competition before taking on the C-USA heavyweights. Junior
forward Brian Deutsch continued his offensive output by contributing
an assist against the Nittany Lions following goals in each of the team’s
two exhibition games. Junior midfielder Clyde Simms and sophomore
back Brian Bostian both tallied against Penn State.
On the Pitch:
Two Pirates were named
to the all-tournament team at the Ohio State NIKE Classic. Clyde Simms
and goalie R.J. Marvinney were named to the tournament team for
their performances over the weekend…Last year’s top scorer, junior Joe
Ellington will look to shake off heavy marks and get on the tally sheet
for the year this week.
Sidelined:
Currently, no Pirates
are sidelined.
Around C-USA:
If the Conference-USA
opener between Memphis and Texas Christian is any indication of the type of
season it will be in 2002, then strap yourselves in and get ready for a long
and wild ride. Memphis topped TCU 3-2 in double overtime in Tennessee.
Memphis freshman Dayton O’Brien nailed his penalty kick to secure the win in
the second round of PKs…An early Radford goal was too much for the 49ers to
overcome in their opener, losing 1-0…Preseason No. 11 Saint Louis got mixed
results during their foray into ACC country at the Chapel Hill tournament,
drawing 1-1 with No. 24 Wake Forest and then falling to No. 4 North Carolina
2-1 on a goal that came at the 89:57 mark…No. 15 UAB didn’t enjoy its West
Coast trip to Irvine, CA, very much. The Blazers, expected to fare very well
out west, took it on the chin 2-1 from San Diego on Monday and could only
muster a 1-1 tie with Cal Irvine on Friday. San Diego’s game-winner came
after UAB’s Marin Pusek was red-carded in the 71st minute…South
Florida freshmen Hunter West tallied in the first half and USF withstood a
late shot off the post to down Stetson 1-0…Louisville split their two games
in Indianapolis over the weekend. Fernando Tolomelli tallied twice and added
an assist on the weekend to lead the Cardinals in a 4-3 loss to IUPUI-Fort
Wayne and a 3-2 victory over IUPUI…The Schizo Award goes to DePaul this
weekend. The Blue Demons, out in Portland, OR for NIKE Portland
Invitational, were smoked by the host 6-0 and then turned around and drew
1-1 against No. 7 Washington… Cincinnati relied on its New Zealand
connection to down Dayton, 2-1. Fellow New Zealanders Tim Brown and Wiremu
Patrick each tallied and junior goalie and New Zealander Sachu Nathu blocked
a penalty kick for the Bearcats. Marquette was the only C-USA club not to
open this past week. The team opens on the season tonight at Evansville.
The Tally Sheet:
Player Team Goals
Assists Total Points
GRANT, Jelani
Louisville 2
1 5
TOLOMELLI,
Fernando Louisville 2 1 5
PATRICK, Wiremu
Cincinnati 1 1 3
ARREOLA,
Edwin DePaul 1
0 2
BOSTIAN,
Ryan ECU 1
0 2
BROWN, Tim
Cincinnati 1
0 2
CANN,
Adrian Louisville 1
0 2
GREENSLADE,
Reid Memphis 1 0 2
KIRCHHOFF,
Mike Saint Louis 1 0
2
MONTEIRO, Flavio UAB
1 0 2
O’BRIEN,
Dayton Memphis 1
0 2
PIERRE,
Justin Louisville 1
0 2
RAYO,
Jose UAB 1
0 2
RONAN,
Dan Memphis 1
0 2
SIMMS,
Clyde ECU 1
0 2
SITAR,
Dustin TCU 1
0 2
STRONG, J.J.
TCU 1 0 2
WALLS, Nick
Walls Saint Louis 1
0 2
WEST,
Hunter South Florida 1
0 2
Women’s
This Week’s Slate:
Friday, Sept. 6:
Virginia Tech vs ECU in Charlotte
Sunday, Sept. 8: South
Carolina vs ECU in Charlotte
Last Week:
East Carolina 3, High
Point 1
East Carolina 3, Ken
State 1
Donnenwirth says:
“Our team is very happy
to be 2-0 right now but we have a lot of work to do and the team is
completely aware of that. We need to possess the ball better. (Virginia Tech
and South Carolina) will be big time tests for us. The Big East and the SEC
are premier conferences. We will need to improve to beat these teams.”
Looking Ahead:
The Pirates will face
Virginia Tech (0-1-0) in the first game of the Charlotte tournament. The
Hokies are coming off a 5-0 pasting at the hands of No. 7 Notre Dame and
will be looking to get a win. Tech is a young team, with 12 freshmen on the
roster, but the core of veterans are a very fit group. Co-captain midfielder
Kelly Holdsworth is one of the team’s top offensive threats. Though the team
lost big in the opener, it did soundly defeat George Mason, 5-1, in its
exhibition game. South Carolina comes into the tournament with a 2-0-0
record having bested Davidson (3-0) and Birmingham Southern (3-0) in the
opening week of play. Senior forward Morgan McIntyre scored in both
contests. All-SEC midfielders Melinda Carter and Jess Julin – who played
with the U.S. National team this summer – are very strong in the middle.
Junior goalie Elise Matthews has a pair shutouts this season and had a 0.78
goals against average in 2001.
Rewind:
The Pirates tallied
back-to-back 3-1 victories in dominating performances over High Point and
Kent State. On Friday, against High Point, rain made the field conditions
horrible, taking away the ground game and forcing both teams to play the
ball in the air as much as possible. The Pirates shifted to playing the long
ball with success. Senior forward Amanda Duffy tallied the season’s
first goal and later contributed an assist. Sophomore midfielder Sarah
Stoltz scored the eventual game-winner and freshman sensation Meghan
McCallion showed already why she was so highly-anticipated up front by
knocking home the game’s final goal. Rains continued on Sunday and Pirates
stayed consistent as well. McCallion tallied again, this time first
for the Pirates, followed by goals from Stoltz and senior defender
Kristin Hoyle.
On the Pitch:
The Pirates take their
2-0 record on a six-game road trip which will include a pair of games this
weekend in Charlotte at the 49ers tourney…Freshman goalie Lauren Church
has been impressing her coach and teammates. Over the weekend, the
Hagerstown, MD, product registered 13 saves in the two wins…Duffy,
McCallion and Stoltz are all currently on a two-game streak for
scoring… According to Donnenwirth, outside midfielder Hoyle
has been the best player this season in terms of consistency in the attack,
transition, and defense…Donnenwirth also had high praise for McCallion,
citing that the freshman factored in all three goals against High Point…The
water was so bad this past week, that Bunting Field literally had standing
water all over the field.
Sidelined:
Michelle Kmiotek, Fr,
GK, torn ligament in right thumb – out for 3-6 weeks
Unicity Dittmer, Sr., D
– day to day
Faith Innis, Jr., MF/F –
day to day
Rachael Cabeceiras, So.,
D/MF – out for 1 month
Dara Nielson, Fr., GK,
shoulder – out 1 week
Around C-USA:
A hand ball in the 73rd minute was all it
took for TCU to see Mississippi State tag them with a loss in the opener at
the Baylor Labor Day Classic. The Horned Frogs rebounded, sort of, in
dominating Louisiana-Lafayette everywhere but on the scoreboard before
having to settle for a 1-1 draw in two overtimes…Jill Hayes, Sarah Huber,
and Courtney Crandell each tallied for Charlotte in a 3-2 overtime win over
Davidson to open the season…Saint Louis swept its opening weekend of soccer
with a 3-0 pasting of Drury – thanks to a hatrick by sophomore Jamie Perry –
followed by a 1-0 overtime win over Vanderbilt. In the action, senior
midfielder Jenny Kehl became the Saint Louis career assists leader (22) with
a pair of passes against Drury…UAB posted a three-point weekend in Hawaii
at the OHANA Hotels & Resotrs No Ka Oi by beating Wyoming 3-0 and drawing
with host Hawaii 1-1. Jenny Rynders scored in both contests…Alabama pounded
Tulane 4-1 in the Green Wave’s opener…Southern Miss held a 1-0 advantage
until the 78th minute against Georgia State. In that minute, the
78th, Georgia State tallied twice to steal the victory…Miami
cruised past South Florida in a battle of Florida teams. It wasn’t close as
the Hurricanes won 5-1…Marquette opened the season with a tough 4-3 win over
Ohio as Kate Gordon tallied two goals and added an assist. Against Oakland,
however, the Golden Eagles fell short, falling 2-0…A UT Martin goal in the
closing minutes cost Louisville its opener 2-1. That loss paled in
comparison to the Cardinals dropping their home opener 3-0 to Dayton…DePaul
split its first two games of the season, falling to Northwestern 2-0, but
then rebounding nicely to beat IPFW 5-0 in a game that saw Christy Young
tally twice for DePaul…Cincinnati opened the season with a crisp 3-0
blasting of Xavier and then followed that up with a stunning 2-1 upset of
No. 12 Florida on Sunday. Amy Simonson tallied the game-winner for Cincy…Newcomers
contributed early for Houston, as sophomore Nikki Hawkins and Sara Hemmer
each scored unassisted to rally the Cougars to the 2-1 victory over the Rice
Owls…Memphis started the season off right with a 2-1 win over Florida
Atlantic in a lightening storm. The Lady Tigers drew a 1-1 tie against
Florida International on Sunday to win the FAU Kickoff Classic in Boca
Raton, FL.
The Tally Sheet:
Player Team Goals
Assists Total Points
MCCALLION,
Meghan ECU 2 2
7
ADAMS,
Katie Southern Miss 3
0 6
PERRY,
Jamie Saint Louis 3
0 6
CARMAN,
Nicole TCU 2
1 5
GORDON,
Kate Marquette 2
1 5
RYNDERS,
Jenny UAB 2
0 4
SIMONSON,
Amy Cincinnati 2
0 4
STOLTZ,
Sarah ECU 2
0 4
YOUNG, Christy
DePaul 2 0 4
AMROZOWICZ, Becca
Memphis 1 1 3
BAKER,
Alison Memphis 1
1 3
CRANDELL,
Courtney Charlotte 1 1
3
DUFFY,
Amanda ECU 1
1 3
GREENBERG,
Laura TCU 1
1 3
KNOTTEK,
Jill UAB 1
1 3
SITCH,
Julianne DePaul 1
1 3
WAGNER, Tasha
Cincinnati 0 3 3
WILES,
Tricia Southern Miss 1
1 3
YEARY, Brianne
TCU 1 1 3
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