Welcome to Bonesville, Swabbie! News, Analysis, Opinion & Booty for Internet Plunderers

The week holds nothing but opportunity for both the men and women at ECU. For the men, there is the opportunity to make some noise to end the season by taking it to conference-leading and 24^th-ranked Saint Louis.

For the women, it is a second-straight Conference-USA tournament appearance, with the Pirates nailing down the number three seed.

Amanda Duffy, in white, readies to fire a shot on goal in against

USF earlier this year. Duffy leads the Pirates into the C-USA

tournament today. (ECU SID)

The women knew they were in the tournament – which begins at noon today in Charlotte – two weeks ago, but had to wait on some final week results to see what seed they would slot into. As it turns out, the Pirates will face a team they did not play this season when they face Houston in the second game today at 2:30.

“I think it is good at this point to play the unknown,” coach Rob Donnenwirth said. “We have no preconceived notions about how good (Houston) is. Houston is a physical team and has been very opportunistic. They were one second away from not being in the tournament, let alone the sixth seed, but they tied Tulane with one second remaining on the clock in their last game of the season to get in.”

Houston does have a reputation for being physical and the Cougars lead Conference-USA in yellow cards on the season, but Donnenwirth says his team is not too concerned about that.

“The team will be ready,” he said. “This is what we trained for since our penalty kick shootout defeat to Charlotte last year. This has been our focus.”

Focus, until the team’s last regular season game, had not been a problem for the Pirates. But last Saturday, the team lost to a weak Elon team 2-1 and was shook up by the result.

“Elon was an embarrassing loss for us,” Donnenwirth said. “We had numerous chances to score they stuck two of their three good chances that they had. The team was very upset with themselves after the loss. When we arrived on campus, I told them that sometimes it is good to get embarrassed…but now we have more serious business ahead of us.”

Despite blistering the Elon goal for 21 shots, the Pirates could muster only a Mindy Nixon goal as they fell to the Phoenix 2-1.

“We need to get back to the ‘blue collar’ work ethic that has won us games,” he said. “When you get to the tournament, everyone is playing with their backs against the wall and level (of play) is raised. It should be an exciting tournament.”

Despite the meltdown against Elon, the Pirates for all intents and purposes are capable of beating every team in the field and it appears as though the team is intent on making a run at it. Senior midfielder Amanda Duffy is playing like the all-star she is and freshman attacker Megan McCallion is dangerous from all over the front. Senior back Unicity Dittmer is finally back to true form and her leadership on the backline has since her return from an injury. The talent is there, now it is up to the players to want it.

From the sounds of it, they are. Stay tuned today for the tournament. The winner of the ECU-Houston game will take on the South Florida-Cincinnati winner on Thursday at 5 p.m.

It was, indeed, a disappointing season for the Pirates on the men’s side. The players were intent on showing the league a thing or two and sneaking into the league tournament. But, with just six slots and a gamut of top-tier, it was too much to ask of the young team.

But, as this team has shown in the past, they are strong finishers and improving along the way. Last week, the team showcased what appears to be an emerging offensive ability in outscoring North Carolina State 4-3 in Raleigh and then turned around and put on the defensive show of the year against tops in the league Marquette in earning a 0-0 overtime draw.

Now, lies the opportunity of the season in a trip to Saint Louis to take on the league-coleader and nationally-ranked Billikens in the season finale.

“Saint Louis is a huge game for us,” coach Devin O’Neill said. “They are tied for first place in the league and we will be playing in an exceptional atmosphere in front of a huge crowd. They do a great job at home and are explosive offensively. If we can weather the opening storm, we might be able to establish ourselves in the game.”

The team is making no bones about the value of the game, treating it as their personal post-season.

“It will have that type of atmosphere for us,” O’Neill said. “A win would be a great step up for our program.”

In the Marquette game, O’Neill saw, for the first time, extended flashes of what this team might become over the next couple of seasons. They lose only one senior – a big one in goalie R.J. Marvinney – and the players have shown marked improvement throughout the season.

“The Marquette game was our best performance of the year,” O’Neill said. “It shows the potential for this group. The conference is just so difficult from top to bottom. So, if you are not at your best, it is nearly impossible to win a game in the league. Think about it…TCU just tied Saint Louis and we just tied Marquette. Two teams not in the tournament, just tied the top two teams in the league.”

Though the season is a disappointment in terms of wins and losses and tournament seedings for the men, it was a gain from a program standpoint.

“We are certainly getting better,” O’Neill said. “Each fall we look better. One thing that we need to do is to focus on reducing the number of goals we give up. We must perform defensively like we did against Marquette every time out, consistently, to become (contenders) in Conference-USA.”

"Consistency is the key for us. In our backline, we have a sophomore in his first year as a defender and a freshman and a sophomore. We have a very young backline learning a new system. They have come together as a unit as the season has progressed. We are getting better."

The Pirates can never be accused of finishing the season on a light note, facing the two teams tied for first in Conference USA to finish the season. First, they tied Marquette. Now, on Saturday, they will travel to Saint Louis to take on the 24^th-ranked Billikens. The Billikens (11-3-2; 6-2-1) are loaded with talent and are unbeaten at 9-0-1 on their home pitch. Add to that, the fact that the team is retiring the jersey of former Billiken and current MLS star with the Columbus Crew, Brian McBride. The game will also mark the last home appearance for a bevy of current stars and the Pirates find themselves really up against it. But this team is no stranger to upsetting the favorite. Last season, the Pirates knocked off then-ranked UAB in the final game of the season. The Billikens are full of talented scorers, including C-USA top point getter Jason Cole (13 goals, 4 assists) and the man in the middle and preseason C-USA player of the year, Jack Jewsbury (7 goals, 8 assists). Add to the mix set-up specialist Kevin Wickart (2 goals, 7 assists) and steady Nick Walls (4 goals, 2 assists) and it is easy to see why the Billikens have been so successful. The defense is also solid as well as senior middie Joe Hammes (3 goals, 2 assists).

The Pirates, disappointed during the season, are finishing very strong. Going 1-0-1 for the week that was, the Pirates played a pair of overtime games, beginning with a beautiful 4-3 win over in-state and ACC rival North Carolina State University. Junior midfielder Michael Logan netted the game-winner just 31 seconds into the overtime period. Also contributing on the day were junior forward Joe Ellington who tallied in the 17^th minute from sophomore mid Reed Avren, junior midfielder Clyde Simms from junior back David Broyles, and also a tally from junior forward Brian Deutsch. While scoring was abundant against the Wolfpack, it was the backline for ECU that impressed on Sunday as the Pirates earned a 0-0, double-overtime draw with powerful league-leading Marquette. Moreover, the Pirates outshot the Golden Eagles (8-7-1; 6-2-1) 20-16 on the day. Senior goalie R.J. Marvinney turned in an outstanding performance, closing down opportunities for Marquette all day. Defender Pat Cutler had one of the defensive plays of the game when he blocked a shot with a diving header. "Our guys couldn`t have given any more to the game," said Head Coach Devin O`Neill after today`s tie. "Marquette is a very good team, we certainly deserved the tie that we got and had opportunities to win it as did Marquette. I think it was an evenly, hard contested game. I hope that our guys can take something from this, that we can compete with the upper echelons of the conference in terms of a competitive effort. It flat out was a tough performance and is the performance of the season so far, outstanding, and I am so happy for them," coach Devin O’Neill said of the Marquette game.

Senior R.J. Marvinney is the only player departing from this squad as the team starts to look ahead to next year. Marvinney will be a huge loss between the pipes, having posted more than 300 career starts with more than 100 this season. He was not only an excellent keeper, but he was also the team captain and leader on the field in his all-time ECU mark of 58 games. He will be missed.

Charlotte goalie Lucas Mackanos registered eight saves, including a number of awe-inspiring ones to help the 49ers hold on for a 0-0 double-OT tie. The Bearcats, with a strong defensive outing, limited Charlotte’s opportunities all day in front of goalie John Adams, who was credited with his fourth shutout…Louisville picked up a huge win in a 1-0 effort to down Cincinnati. Jelani Grant tallied on a breakaway late in the 39^th minute for the victory. The victory helped earn a pair of Cardinals freshmen C-USA honors for the week. Grant, a frosh midfielder, was named league offensive player of the week and goalie Brad Sokolowski was named the defensive player of the week. Much of their earnings were forged in an earlier-in-the-week win over TCU, 3-1. In the win, Grant scored once and added an assist to Courtney Commander to lead the Cardinals…DePaul used a goal from Mike Fenton – his first collegiate tally – to down South Florida 1-0 to remain a perfect 6-0-0 at home on Wish Field…Marquette got an important league win early in the week by knocking off pesky Memphis, 2-1. Midfielder Eric Marshall continued his late-season surge by scoring both Golden Eagles’ goals…24^th-ranked Saint Louis destroyed DePaul 5-1 in a tune up for the conference tournament. Senior Jack Jewsbury scored once and added a pair of assists to lead the conference-leading Billikens. SLU then followed up with a systematic 2-1 win over Memphis. Again Jewsbury factored with a goal, but it was league scoring leader Jason Cole who netted the GW…It took two overtime periods, but South Florida got a 1-0 win over UAB. Freshman phenom Hunter West tallied on a diving header for the game-winner…The Blazers got a lopsided, non-league win over Georgia State, 3-0 to bolster its record. Jermie Frankson and Oswaldo Gallegos each tallied in the win to go along with a Georgia State own goal.

“Elon was an embarrassing loss for us. We had numerous chances to score they stuck two of their three good chances that they had. The team was very upset with themselves after the loss. When we arrived on campus, I told them that sometimes it is good to get embarrassed…but now we have more serious business ahead of us.”

The Pirates, the number three tournament seed, get Houston, a team that they did not play during the regular season. Houston finished the regular season at 8-7-3 overall and 4-3-3 in the league. The tourney berth is the 5^th-straigth for the Cougars. The Cougars qualified on their last game – a 1-1 draw with Tulane – and are led by Nikki Hawkins (6 goals, assist). Freshman Kelly Golden (4 goals, 2 assists) is also a potent attacker. The Cougars are riding a three-game unbeaten streak coming into the first round of the tournament in Charlotte.

Senior midfielder Amanda Duffy scored the game-winner in a 1-0 victory over former Colonial Athletic Association foe UNC-Wilmington as the Pirates used a pair of non-league games to help tune-up for the upcoming C-USA tournament. The win made the Pirates 6-0-1 at home on Bunting field. Duffy’s goal came on an assist from fellow senior Unicity Dittmer in the 38^th minute. Mindy Nixon tallied ECU’s only goal in an upset loss at Elon to end the regular season on a down note. Despite outshooting the Phoenix 21-9, the Pirates could not rally.

Three seniors have played their last game on Bunting Field. So, here’s a little history for each as they ready for their final collegiate action. Kristen Hoyle came to ECU as a transfer from West Florida. She has started 56-straight games for the Pirates starting as a back and finishing up as a midfielder/forward. Her play has always been described as tenacious…Unicity Dittmer came to ECU from Chantilly, Va. She has played 64 games since becoming a Pirates. After missing the first part of the season due to an injury, the Pirates responded to her return to the backline by going 6-2-2 since her return. Unicity’s aggressiveness in the back serves as a model for her younger teammates…Forward/midfielder Amanda Duffy- from Jacksonville, NC, is a two-year captain who will tie an ECU-mark for most caps with 72 when she lines up against Houston. She holds the single-season points record with 32 on 14 goals and 4 assists during her junior campaign. She is the ECU record-holder in career goals with 32 and is second in assists with 16. She is just two points off the career mark for points at 76 and she was a 1^st team, all-C-USA player and 2^nd Team all-South selection in 2001.

12^th-ranked Charlotte wrapped up an unbeaten season by defeating Saint Louis 3-2 this past week. The 49ers, the top seed and host for the upcoming C-USA tournament, finished with a 15-0-2 mark on the year, helping land former ECU and current Charlotte coach Neil Roberts, league coach-of-the-year honors. The 15 wins is a school record. Against the Billikens, the 49ers again road the strength of freshman superstar Courtney Crandell, the league’s far and away most prolific scorer. She tallied a goal and added an assist in the win over Saint Louis…Cincinnati swept to a pair of wins, including a 1-0 decision over in-state rival Ohio State. Amy Simonson tallied in the win over OSU, which marked the Bearcats 12^th shutout of the season. In an earlier game, the Bearcats got tallies from Amy Mink, Tianna Oliver, and Marie Strelka to secure a 3-0 league win over Louisville…DePaul stepped out of league to post an impressive 4-1 win over Northern Illinois. Julianne Sitch had a goal and two assists for the Blue Demons in the victory…Houston went 1-0-1 on the week, picking up a 1-0 victory over TCU and grabbing a tournament berth with a 1-1 draw with Tulane. Houston’s lone senior, Ashley Fortenberry, scored the winner against TCU. Kelly Golden scored for Houston and Brook Parker tallied for Houston and Tulane, respectively, in the draw…Marquette watched a 2-1 lead evaporate against Vanderbilt as the Commodores found a way to down the Golden Eagles, 3-2. Marquette rebounded, however, to down DePaul 3-0. Kate Gordon found twine twice to lead Marquette…Memphis laid the wood to Tulane, 4-0, last week, using three second-half goals to pull away from the Green Wave. Kirsty Marr scored the game-winner for the Tigers. The Memphis-Mississippi game was cancelled and will not be made up…UAB finished the season on an up note, soundly defeating Southern Mississippi 3-0. Stalwarts Jill Knottek, Jenny Rynders, and Tara Kidwell did the damage for the Blazers, who finished just outside of the tournament seedings.

Eliminated but not Devastated...ECU Men Continue to Build Program