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Whether or not the Pirates will recover from an 0-2 start in Conference-USA play remains to be seen. But, for sure, on Sunday, the men shook the very foundation of the league this year, putting a more-than-real scare into the 9^th-ranked team in the land before falling 4-3 to the visiting Blazers from Alabama-Birmingham.

(ECU SID)

Reed Avren leads C-USA

in assists this season.

It took a UAB (5-0-2, 1-0-0 C-USA) goal in the final three minutes to escape from Bunting Field with a victory. This Blazers’ team has gone without a loss against four top-25 teams this season and is not the type of club that overlooks anyone, let alone a team that has not lost to them in the past two seasons.

“Obviously, we would like to have some points at this point but we have lost two very close (conference) games that really could have gone either way,” coach Michael Benn said in reference to how the loss affects post-season possibilities. “Conference-USA is so even across the board that anyone can win on any given day. October will be big for us as six of our seven games are in conference. Our goal of reaching the conference tournament is absolutely attainable.”

More than just a great effort, the Pirates (3-2-1, 0-2-0 C-USA) saw those things in the UAB game that spell good news for the club this season and the program overall and make Benn’s assertion more than remote.

For instance, the Pirates found a way to tally first against one of the strongest backlines in the nation when David Rowe found twine in the 13^th minute. Then after watching the Blazers deftly dissect them to the tune of three quick tallies to take a 3-1 lead into the intermission, the Pirates found a way to rally back.

With two second-half goals, the Pirates were tied and in a dogfight that lasted the rest of the way. There would be no collapse. Moreover, the team got goals from its two premier scorers in Brian Deutsch and Matt Kowaleski – meaning that they stepped up in a big game.

“We have been generating a lot of good attacks,” Benn said. “We have taken our chances well and have executed our game plans very well. This is a very coachable group that wants to be successful. This year I think we have more players that are dynamic in their attacking play. Matt Kowaleski and Adam Combs can both break down defenses off the dribble. Clyde Simms and Reed Avren have done a great job in the middle of the field for us distributing the ball. Brian Deutsch and Josh Foltz are a good combination up front in that they are two different styles of players.”

Finally from the UAB game, the Pirates take away the knowledge that they could have won the game, though they aren’t looking for moral victories here. Still, the team has one. They can play and play with anyone this season and that is a good sign if not for this year, the next.

“We played well against UAB,” Benn said. “(UAB) is an outstanding team with good technical ability and tremendous athleticism. They have been one of the best programs in the conference and country over the past five or six years. Games against teams like UAB show where you are as a program, and we should feel pretty good. We are obviously disappointed that we did not get the result, but there are a lot of positives to take out of this game.”

The big question now – the last measure of a team on the rise – is can the team respond with victory in its next league outing.

The Pirates embark on a Tennessee road trip this week with games at Memphis and at Vanderbilt. In Memphis, the Pirates have a twofold opportunity. First, they are playing a team that is not known for its attack, an area that ECU is excelling in this season; second, the Pirates have a chance to get a road win in league, something that could pay big dividends down the road.

Yes, the UAB game would have been a dream to win, but the Pirates are poised now to break out. Hopefully, it will happen.

The Pirates rebounded from a lackluster 1-1 draw with South Florida in a game that was moved to Charlotte to avoid any effects that Hurricane Isabel may have wrought by pounding Southern Mississippi 4-0. The weekend appeared to have success written all over with two games slated at home in comfy confines of Bunting Field, but the venue change did not take for the Pirates (4-2-2, 1-0-1 C-USA).

(ECU SID)

Anastasia Nikas making

an impact as a freshman.

"It was tough making the switch to Charlotte," coach Rob Donnenwirth said. "We had a lot of last minute logistical plans to make, which cut into our preparation for the game. I know the team felt added stress with the hurricane - especially the new players."

Yet, the team came away with a draw and a resounding victory and for many years that would have been a big deal for the Pirates. But, this program is beyond that. Two victories were on the menu and they came away with just one.

Neither the coaches nor the team find that draw acceptable, which is the attitude of a champion.

"We met with the players," Donnenwirth said of a post-South Florida gut-check. "And, I know the team had a meeting behind closed doors to get re-focused."

The Pirates are focused on the prize at the end of the sesaon and they realize, to a player, that they need to pick it up. They are still in the thick of the Conference-USA race, sitting in fourth early on, looking up at UAB, Saint Louis and DePaul and do not want to waste what they all know is a very talented lineup this season.

Four different Pirates found twine this weekend, demonstrating what coach Rob Donnenwirth has been saying all along – this year’s team is deep and has a penchant for finding the goal.

And many players are emerging, not just the names you see in the paper every day.

"Senior Tina Rivera has been the unsung hero of our team," Donnenwirth said. "She has come a long way in her four years and has turned into a great defender for us. Anastasia Nikas (freshmen) has picked up her level of play since preseason and looks more confident."

Defensively, the team is strong and the goalie situation is improving game-by-game as Lindsi Troxler gets more and more minutes..

The Pirates are on the road this week at Tulane on Friday and then Houston on Saturday. The slate works in the team’s favor in that they get the better of the two opponents on Friday in Tulane. Tulane has looked good this season thus far, but the Pirates should out-depth them and out-attack them. Houston is struggling…badly. The Pirates should have plenty of firepower to overwhelm the Cougars, but the second game of a road swing is always tougher on the traveling team.

Nonetheless, the Pirates realistically should be considering this a twofer trip and an opportunity to set themselves up nicely in the league standings.

East Carolina's men's soccer game against Georgia Southern scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed due to the threat of Hurricane Isabel. No make-up date has been set.

On Sunday, the Pirates hosted 9^th-ranked Alabama-Birmingham and though the Pirates lost 4-3, it was a whopper of a soccer game and should convince the Pirates that they are a worthy opponent in Conference-USA.

After taking a lead in the 13^th minute on a David Rowe tally from Reed Avren on a corner kick, the Pirates saw the Blazers (5-0-2, 1-0-0 C-USA) rip off three-straight tallies in the first half.

“Our boys showed tremendous character to battle back from 3-1 down at halftime,” coach Michael Benn said. “We played as well as we could have played. We certainly gave ourselves chances to win.”

The Pirates battled back to within one goal at the 47:38 mark when Brian Deutsch lifted a chip into the goal after collecting a nice a service from Pat Cutler. Slightly more than 10 minutes later, Matt Kowaleski knotted the game with his 5^th goal of the year, this one coming when he put away a rebound off a Avren shot.

The Pirates battled intensely, but in the 87^th minute, UAB’s Leandro de Oliveira put away a pass from Jose Rayo by ECU keeper Brian Pope for the game-winner.

“UAB capitalized on our three mistakes in the first half, as good teams will do,” coach Benn said. “I was pleased with our defensive play for the most part on the day. (UAB) is a difficult team to match up with. I am so proud of the way our guys responded in the second half. To be down 3-1 and come back to tie the match shows tremendous character and guts. UAB had only given up one goal in their first six games and we scored three in 90 minutes.”

“I think we feel good about where we are. We have been in every game we have played with chances to win all of them. It is not a big reach to say that we could be 6-0 right now. Our schedule is very difficult, but will prepare us well for the conference tournament and hopefully, the NCAAs.”

On Friday, the Pirates will be looking to pick up the elusive first C-USA win at Memphis, a team that is looking, itself, for its first league win.

In Memphis, the Pirates engage a team that has some weapons and some solid players in the lineup, particularly up top. Andy Metcalf (5 goals, 2 assists) and Omar Jarun (4 goals, assist) are more than able scorers for the Tigers. Dayton O’Brien (2 goals, 4 assists) is also strong in the midfield.

Goalie Sebastian Vecchio and defenders Justin Dyer and Graham Gibbs are stalwarts in the back for the Tigers and could the Pirates some fits.

“Memphis is a very important game for us,” Benn said. “We are 0-2 in C-USA and they are 0-1 so both teams will be battling for important points. They are physically gifted and are off to a good start. We have played two good games with them – losing each by one goal – and I expect that it will be another very tight game.”

The Pirates visit a Commodores team that is having trouble offensively, having scored just three goals this season and is coming off a 1-0 loss to Charleston. The team is solid defensively, but will be tested by the ECU attack.

Team captain Jimmy Stone has moved forward from his normal position at midfielder and is the team’s best attacker. Ryan Paugh is the top defender on the backline for Vandy. Goalies Conor Ellinger (0.53 gaa, 15 saves) will likely start, but Jamie Burns (1.50 gaa, 5 saves) could also play, having started two games this season. Both are strong between the pipes.

“Vanderbilt is an up and coming program,” Benn said. “This is their coach's second year and he is doing a great job with that program. They have been competitive thus far and will be another excellent test for us.”

Because he drew a red card against UAB, ECU’s Pat Cutler must sit out of the Memphis game…ECU’s Reed Avren currently leads all players in C-USA in the assists category with 6…Both of ECU’s top scorers, Matt Kowaleski and Brian Deutsch are currently on three-game scoring streaks…Pirate David Rowe tallied his first goal as a collegiate player, scoring in the 13^th minute against UAB…In the most-recent soccer national rankings, two C-USA clubs are now in the top-10 (according to College Soccer News). Saint Louis is currently ranked 3^rd and Alabama-Birmingham sits at 7^th among the nation’s top teams. The last time Conference-USA had two clubs in the top-10 was in 2001 when Saint Louis ranked 5^th and UAB was 8^th, respectively... Louisville is in Lexington, KY, taking part in the University of Kentucky Invitational. On Friday, the Cardinals knocked off Butler for a first round win. Simon Bird tallied his 5^th goal of the season in the 2-1 victory…More than just a league victory for Marquette, the Golden Eagles did something no other team has done in a long-time against South Florida – they shut down prolific scorer Hunter West, last season’s scoring champ and this season’s league-leader. West has been nearly unstoppable in the attack, but Marquette found a way to shut him down as well as freshman sensation Drew Helm. Meanwhile, senior Tony Walby had no problem generating in the attack for Marquette, as the senior middie tallied a goal and served up the other in the 2-1 win. Kudos to the Marquette defense for holding the Bulls to just for shots on goal…Saint Louis star Kevin Wickart was named to the Soccer America team of the week last week…DePaul sits at 1-5-0 despite owning an overall offensive advantage through six games. The Blue Demons have out-shot their opponents 64-55 and hold a decisive 42-16 balance in corner kicks taken…Billikens’ keeper Martin Hutton has posted four shutouts in the first five games (80%), including blanking three-straight top-25 opponents and currently holds a 292-minute scoreless streak…Saint Louis has yet to see a non-freshman find twine this season. Freshmen have scored all eight Billikens goals this season thus far…UAB is currently off to its best-ever start for a season at 4-0-2. All four victories have come over either ranked or then-ranked opponents…C-USA owns a 24-16-7 record against non-conference foes, including a stunning 6-1-3 mark against ranked teams…At the All-ProRehab Aces Soccer Classic, three Memphis Tigers were named to the all-tourney team. Defenders Justin Dyer and Graham Gibbs joined goalie Sebastian Vecchio on the honored team…Marquette’s Derek Gutierrez, Chris Lee, and Matt Darby joined South Florida’s Kareem Smith on the Marquette Invitational All-Tournament team over the weekend…When Louisville’s Ryan Edwards tallied the game-winner against Central Florida on Sunday, he also locked up the UK Invitational Tournament Championship for the Cardinals. Goalie Brad Sokolowski and attackers Adrian Cann, Simon Bird, and defender Matt Neely were named to the all-tournament team.

The following table lists the leading scorers in 2003 for Conference-USA through Sunday, September 21:

Player

Team

Goals

Assists

Total

Points

WEST, Hunter	South Florida	7	0	14
BIRD, Simon	Louisville	5	3	13
KOWALESKI, Matt	East Carolina	5	2	12
METCALF, Andy	Memphis	5	2	12
IBISEVIC, Vedad	Saint Louis	4	2	10
JARUN, Omar	Memphis	4	1	9
KOHLMEYER, Blair	Marquette	4	1	9
MONTEIRO, Jersun	UAB	3	3	9
HELM, Drew	South Florida	2	4	8
PUSEK, Marin	UAB	2	4	8
LEE, Chris	Marquette	3	1	7
POMEROY, Ryan	Louisville	3	1	7
TERMINESI, Marco	Louisville	2	3	7
AVREN, Reed	East Carolina	0	6	6
DEUTSCH, Brian	East Carolina	3	0	6
JOHN, Will	Saint Louis	2	2	6
RAYO, Jose	UAB	2	2	6
De OLIVEIRA, Leandro	UAB	2	1	5
DiRAIMONDO, John	Saint Louis	2	1	5
ROJO, Luke	DePaul	2	1	5
BLOUIN, Matt	Marquette	2	0	4
FOLTZ, Josh	East Carolina	2	0	4
GARDNER, Josh	Cincinnati	1	2	4
MUPIER, Mira	Charlotte	2	0	4
O’BRIEN, Dayton	Memphis	2	0	4
SPITZER, Mickey	UAB	1	2	4

The Pirates were hoping to start off the Conference-USA slate with a home opener at Bunting Field against a struggling opponent. Instead, thanks to Hurricane Isabel contingency plans, the Pirates had to host the Bulls in Charlotte on the campus of UNCC.

Whether or not it was the venue change, the Pirates needed a late goal in the 81^st minute from Rachelle Cabeceiras – her 4^th on the season – to salvage a tie and grab a point for ECU to open the C-USA slate. The draw, improving the Pirates to 3-1-2 (0-0-1 C-USA) on the season, was not what the Pirates wanted to start the slate, but it is better than a 0-point loss in the standings.

South Florida struck first when Rachel Thjomoe tallied her first goal of the season, finishing a mad scramble in front of the Pirate goal. The tally, which put USF up 1-0 at the time, was the result of a save that ricocheted off of ECU goalie Lindsi Troxler. The subsequent loose ball was collected by the Bulls’ Mindy Mulvihill, who slotted it to Ashley Quaid, who then found Thjomoe who had overloaded the box.

"It was tough making the switch to Charlotte," Donnewirth said of the last minute venue change. "We had a lot of last-minute logistical plans to make, which cut into our preparation for the game. I know the team felt added stress with the hurricane - especially the new players.

"With that being said, we need to be able to get mentally prepared under adverse conditions better. We didn't play Pirate Soccer on Friday...and we squeaked out a tie by the skin of our teeth. We just didn't anticipate and play good team defense, which usually leads to us getting chances in transition."

On Sunday, the Pirates dominated visiting Southern Mississippi 4-0 to collect its first victory in Conference-USA play. Four different players tallied for ECU, which dominated the shots on goal category with a 10-3 margin.

Junior Krystel Pabey tallied first for ECU in the 35^th minute, beating USM goalie Anna Snyder badly with a rocket-shot redirect of a Meghan McCallion pass. McCallion tallied her sixth goal of the season early in the second half, converting a pass from Rachel Hils. The Pirates added on with goals by sophomore Carmen Calpo and freshman Anastasia Nikas, who tallied her first for the season.

“We came out with a different attitude and a little more urgency than normal,” coach Rob Donnenwirth said in comparison to Friday night’s tie with South Florida. “It took a while for us to start clicking, but we were able to find the midfielders and I think that we wore them down.”

"We came out with a much better focus versus Southern Miss," Donnenwirth said in comparison to the South Florida contest on Friday. "We met with the players and I know the team had a meeting behind closed doors to get re-focused. The biggest difference was we played with more urgency. We only allowed three shots and all were from long range. We had four different scorers and everyone got to play for the first time all year. Once again, our depth in our bench really wore them down in the second half."

"All the teams that didn't make the tournament last year won games this past weekend. The table has flipped quite a bit. It just shows the parity in this league and that some of the 'top teams' are a little young."

On Friday, the Pirates look for continued success at Tulane. But, the Green Wave will be a tough host.

Melissa Wheeler (4 goals) and Jackie Obert (3 goals) provide plenty of attack power for the Green Wave and defender Jacque Gruber is one of the team’s best players. Goalie Megan Morey is a good one in the net.

The Green Wave is playing well, going 2-1-1 over their last four games including an impressive 1-1 tie with archrival LSU and a win over Marquette.

"Tulane is tough at their place," Donnenwirth said. "They play on field turf which is a big advantage. They had a big result versus Marquette last week."

On Sunday, ECU travels to a struggling Houston team. If ECU is a real contender, this is a game the team should win, tired or not. The Pirates will get to test their ability to play quality soccer despite traveling and being a favorite to win.

For Houston’s part, the Cougars are led by Nikki Hawkins (3 goals) and Kelly Golden, who has yet to get on track this season, but is nonetheless a talented attacker.

The Cougars are also trying to find who will be their goalie as the team is currently rotating three different keepers.

"Houston is a very physical team," Donnenwirth said. "Even though their record isn’t very good, almost all of their games have been decided by one goal. They will be looking for retribution for us knocking them out of the tournament last year."

ECU had to move its C-USA opener to the Charlotte on Friday due to Hurricane Isabel. With the 49ers on the road Friday, it was a great gesture of conference and state sisterhood on the part of UNCC to lend a team a field…For Charlotte, things have not gotten better. UAB standout Jill Knottek tallied twice on Friday to lead the Blazers to a league win over Charlotte, doling out yet another loss to last season’s regular season champs…In a league stunner on Friday, Texas Christian dealt preseason C-USA top pick Cincinnati an unexpected 2-1 loss at home, a place the Bearcats don’t oft lose. Amy Van Zandt had a huge game for TCU, finding twine twice for the Horned Frogs. Goalie Katie Buchanon came up with big saves down the stretch to hold for the win in an evenly-contested game…Who else would DePaul tap to take a critical PK – resulting from a hand ball – with just two minutes in the game than league-leading scorer Julianne Sitch. Sitch, a savvy veteran, tallied her 6^th goal of the season by calmly burying a penalty kick with two minutes left in regulation to beat Houston. With the win, DePaul ended a three-game C-USA winless streak dating back to last season…When Louisville and Memphis played to a 1-1 double-OT draw on Friday, it marked the first time in the 7-game history between the two teams that they have played to a tie. For the record, Louisville leads the series 4-2-1…Perhaps exposing Southern Mississippi’s out of conference schedule a bit, Saint Louis ravaged the visiting Golden Eagles 4-0 to open league play for both teams. Southern Miss had been on a tear, bringing a 5-0-1 record into the C-USA opener at Saint Louis, but the Billikens found the going quite easy, tallying two goals in each half in front of a crowd of 1,052 fans at Hermann Stadium. Saint Louis dominated the attack, owning a 22-3 advantage in shots on frame…UAB is 3-0 so far this season in matches decided by one goal…Cincinnati’s Tasha Wagner moved to 4^th all-time at the school on the career assists list with her 21^st…In Southern Miss’s 2-0 win over Middle Tennessee State last week, Carly Barkley tallied her 4^th game-winner already this season…Talk about taking care of business, Tulane reserve goalie Megan Morey not only came up with seven big saves in the Wave’s stunning 1-1 tie of archrival LSU, but she also assisted – from the goalie position – on the goal that tied the game…UAB’s Jenny Rynders was named the Most Valuable Player at the UAB Nike Classic. Teammate Briana McCarty joined Rynders as an all-tournament selection at the Classic…Cincinnati needed two penalty kicks to rally back to beat Memphis on Sunday, ending a three-game losing streak for the Bearcats…Charlotte’s woes continued as the 2002 league champions were handed their seventh loss of the season courtesy of South Florida on Sunday…DePaul is off to its best-ever start in its eight years of competition on a varsity level, including being 2-0 in the league for the first time ever.