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Lady Pirates Embark
on C-USA Journey
Men keeping the faith; expecting good
things to come
By
Ron Cherubini
©2002 Bonesville.net
The East Carolina
women are right where they want to be and the men feel like they are
on path to where they need to be heading into the soccer week ahead.
For the women, the season has gone about as expected with the team
competing healthily in every contest. The men, meanwhile, are going
forward with a motto of believing in what they are doing. Though
with only one win to show for it, the men believe they are
progressing – as a program – at about the pace they thought they
might.
The women open up
Conference-USA play with a pair of road games at Texas Christian and
Memphis while the men have just one game, a league clash at home
with DePaul. The league format for the women can help you and it can
hurt you. With road trips designed to pair up
geographically-preferable stops on a Friday and Sunday basis, teams
can really pay the price if they are paired for a road trip at two
of the league’s top programs.
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ECU's Clyde
Simms (ECU SID) |
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Fortunately for the
Pirates, the team’s first C-USA road foray offers the team a little
bit of both – a struggling opponent and a hot one. The bad news is
that the team would prefer to flop the games, taking on Memphis
first and then TCU on one day’s rest. But, you play the cards you
are dealt and the Pirates have the talent to go into the games with
reasonable expectations that they can win either or both.
“The stakes are raised this coming weekend,” Coach Rob
Donnenwirth said. “We have two tough C-USA road games. We fly to
Fort Worth (TX) on Thursday, play Friday, fly to Memphis (TN) on
Saturday, and play
Memphis Sunday. We don’t get back to
Raleigh until midnight and back to Greenville around 2
a.m.”
The logistics are staggering enough and then, oh by the
way, you have to play a pair of key games.
“Although TCU is off to a slow start record-wise, they are
a good young team,” Donnenwirth assessed. “They play a possesion
style game, which we need to disrupt.
Memphis is a very
physical team that has had good results (3-2 over Miss. State.).
They have a lot of foreign players that will be very physical.”
TCU is struggling a
bit at 1-4-2, but they are also not pushovers at all and will be
looking to re-set for conference play at home in the opener. Memphis
is off to a great start at 3-1-1 and will have the advantage of
being the home team.
Though the Pirates split a pair of games this past week,
both games saw an ECU team capable of making noise in the conference
this year. Against
Campbell, freshman Meghan McCallion
showed why her team is so excited about her. The
New York product leads the
conference in scoring and found twine three times – yes, a hat trick
– in the 3-1 win over Campbell. In a 1-0 overtime loss to CAA power
Virginia Commonwealth (6-1-0), the
Pirates showed that they could play with one of the better teams in
the country.
“We
played a good game versus a physical Campbell team,” Donnenwirth
said. “We knew they would be pumped for us. I thought we wore them
down by possessing the ball. This showed in the second half. They
tried to be very physical with us and committed 13 fouls in the
first half. I was pleased that our team stayed composed and didn’t
retaliate.
“I felt the second half was ours. They became very
stretched defensively because they feared our forwards. This gave us
a lot of room in the midfield. They could not contain Meghan
McCallion’s speed. Although (Amanda) Duffy didn’t score she created
many opportunities.
Jen Leonard received
the Purple Heart (an internal team award). We said before the game
that we needed to control the midfield and she did a great job
winning balls and distributing.”
Against VCU,
Donnenwirth saw another dimension of his team.
“Against VCU, we
didn’t have as much time in the midfield,” he said. “They were a
solid team with dangerous players. Eight of their starters were
foreign and they had a good tactical sense of the game. In the first
half our individual defending was terrible and if it wasn’t for
Lauren Church in goal, we could have been down by three.
“In the second half
we competed a lot better. They had some chances, but we created some
good chances as well. Their goal in OT came off a corner that went
through the box to a player out wide. We did not mark up well and
the second cross found an open player at the far post who finished
with a header.
The positive is that we know we can compete with any
team on our schedule. In order for us to dictate the rhythm of play
we need to play quicker through the midfield and look to switch the
ball more often.”
If the ladies can
take care of business at TCU, then it will make Sunday’s game a
Memphis a very interesting prospect. To come out of the first road
swing at 1-1 would be fine, but to return to Greenville at 2-0 in
the league would go miles for the Pirates’ goal of making real noise
in the league.
On the men’s side,
it is a big picture versus the small picture paradigm. Though the
team did not anticipate being 1-4 and 0-2 in C-USA at this early
juncture, it certainly knew it had its work cut out to win a bunch
of the games. The record hurts, because it is a tangible measure of
success and it can have adverse effects on morale.
However, if morale
stays good and the players continue to see the forest from trees,
then the Pirates could still surprise a few teams and continue to
grow the program. It all starts with the message from up top –
namely, coach Devin O’Neill.
“No matter what, any
team that loses 4-of-5 games is a fragile team,” O’Neill said. “A
fragile team needs to have reinforcement of what they are doing. We
are not at all displeased with the way this team is playing. Despite
the results we, as a staff, are happy with the effort and
competitiveness of this team. The have all shown equal effort and we
are excited with the trends we are seeing.”
When O’Neill speaks,
he speaks of program development. And the program is moving forward.
But, O’Neill has no illusions about what this team needs.
“Obviously…a win
gives you a shot in the arm,” he said.
The Pirates got dose
number one early last week when the team enjoyed a huge offensive
outpouring, getting tallies from five different players en route to
the team’s 5-2 win over a solid Elon club. The win was the team’s
fifth-straight home-opening victory.
Against Charlotte,
one of the league’s better team’s, the Pirates were unable to find
twine, but were not routed in the 1-0 loss. And, more importantly,
the team showed signs of growth – particularly the backline. O’Neill
had been concerned with the individual play of his defenders and saw
some corrective behavior out of the group.
“We defended much,
much better,” he said. “One-v-one (the players) were better and we
had less breakdowns back there.”
The reality in C-USA
is that the Pirates must defend staunchly because, though talented
up front, the Pirates are still a lower tier program and not going
to have the chances that some of the top tier programs will get on
the pitch.
“We did have some
good opportunities late in the game,” O’Neill said. “Two or three
(chances) in the first half and overall, we did outshoot them
(14-13) in a closely contested game. And that is important. We are
getting more opportunities (to score). Certainly, against some
teams, we are going to have to make the most of our opportunities.”
Most of all, the
team needs to stay focused on getting better and the players have
done that, according to O’Neill.
“Given the record,
(morale) is as good as can be expected,” he said. “We need to make
sure the mood stays good. We are improving and (the players) realize
it. If we can continue to progress at the rate we are (currently),
we will get good results. That is the message we are trying to
reinforce.”
The men have a good
chance to get a good result on Friday when they host DePaul. The
home field is truly an advantage for the Pirates as Bunting Field is
not as wide as most collegiate soccer pitches.
“Home field is
definitely to our advantage,” O’Neill said. “It is very hard for
teams to get used to the dimensions and helps us maintain pressure
on the ball.”
Though home field
will help, O’Neill believes that DePaul brings in a quality
opponent.
“DePaul looks to be
much improved from last year,” he said. “They are 2-2-1 with a very
good tie against (then No. 7) Washington and they are on a 2-game
win-streak. We imagine they will come in full of confidence and it
will be a typical conference game. We like our chances, but we know
it will be an absolute dog-fight…which is par for the course in our
league.”
The Pirates are due a
significant win and being home with a week to prepare affords them
that opportunity.
NOTEBOOKS:
East Carolina Men
This Week’s Slate:
Friday, Sept.
20: DePaul at ECU, 3:30 p.m.
Last Week:
ECU 5, Elon 2
Charlotte 1, ECU
0
Coach O’Neill says:
“Given (the
team’s) record, (morale) is as good as can be expected. We, as a
staff, try to make sure that the mood stays good. We are improving
and the players realize it. If we can continue to the make progress
at the rate we have been, we have a good chance to get the good
results we want. That is the message (the staff) is trying to
reinforce with the team.”
Looking Ahead:
Getting DePaul
at home presents a good opportunity for the Pirates to notch their
first league win. The Blue Demons will not be a pushover by any
stretch. The team shook off an 0-2-1 start and have rebounded with a
pair of consecutive wins against Wisconsin-Green Bay (3-1) and
Northern Illinois (1-0 in OT). The win over Northern Illinois was a
huge booster for DePaul, marking the first time in 16 contests that
the Blue Demons have prevailed against the Huskies. The tie came
against then-No. 7 Washington (1-1). Defensively, the Pirates will
have to keep a vigil watch on Luke Rojo (3 goals). Goalie Mike
Timlin is coming off his first career shutout and will be
particularly jacked for the Pirates and the C-USA opener.
Rewind:
The Pirates
finally got the win they were seeking and they did it in a big way,
pounding a solid Elon club 5-2 last Wednesday. Junior forward
Brian Deutsch tallied a goal, his first, and added a trio of
assists in the contest. Five different Pirates tallied,
demonstrating signs of what coach O’Neill wants, a diversified
attack. Sophomore forward Andy Tabor also scored and added an
assist. Tabor’s goal opened the scoring for the Pirates against Elon
(1-3). Sophomore forward Sean Harris, sophomore midfielder
Reed Avren, and junior forward Josh Foltz all tallied for
ECU. Against Charlotte (3-1), the Pirates saw drastic improvement in
an area deemed critical by Coach O’Neill. The Pirates 1-v-1 defense
and flank defense had been a week point early on and despite the 1-0
C-USA loss, the Pirates appeared up to the task. Tim Flavin’s goal
with less than seven minutes left was the difference, but it was an
extremely close match all the way. The Pirates edged the 49ers in
shots on goal 14-13.
On the Pitch:
The Pirates were
dealt a blow this week when the team learned that junior forward
Josh Foltz was not recovering as expected from foot surgery.
Though he tallied a goal in the Elon game, it has become quite
evident that he his having to play in immense pain for what is
turning out to be only 10-15 minutes of PT. As such, barring an
unexpected change, Foltz is likely to be red-shirted this season.
The team will miss his offensive prowess…Forward Brian Deutsch
is turning out to be a skilled set-up man in the attack. Currently
his four assists ties him for tops in the league with South
Florida’s Jeff Thwaites…Junior back and hometown product David
Broyles has shown marked improvement over the last week, as
cited by Coach O’Neill. The backline was challenged to pick up its
game and Broyles has led that effort…The ‘Mr. Flexibility’ Award to
this point would have to go to sophomore midfielder Jay Ingram.
Ingram has been moved all over the lineup, being called upon to play
four different positions already this season. But, as O’Neill says,
Ingram is a team first guy who is happy and effective, ‘wherever we
put him.’…Defenders Terron Amos, Pat Cutler, and
David Rowe were also cited by O’Neill as having much improved
performances…The Elon win marked the 5th-consecutive
home-opening victory for the Pirates.
Sidelined:
Josh Foltz,
Jr, F, foot – likely out for season.
Around C-USA:
Matt Hayden’s
tally in the 70th minute from Justin Lewis turned out to
be the game-winner for Cincinnati as the Bearcats out-muscled
Memphis in a C-USA soccer brawl, marking the conference opener for
both clubs. The two clubs combined for 47 fouls and 5 yellow cards
were issued on the day. The win helped take the sting of a
heart-breaker-of-a-loss to No. 22 Kentucky earlier in the week. The
Bearcats dominated the action, outshooting the Wildcats 14-7, but
came away on the wrong end of a stinging 1-0 loss…The loss to Cincy
was the first of the season for Memphis, which was coming off a 7-0
blowout win against Lipscomb…Louisville got a taste of the big-time
and learned, it didn’t taste good. The Cardinals were blanked 2-0 by
host and 9th-ranked Indiana…Luke Rojo’s header in the 98th
minute ended a DePaul 15-game winless streak to Northern Illinois on
Sunday…UNC-G held off a South Florida rally to end the Bulls’
three-game win-streak and knocking them out of contention for the
AmeriSuites/Reebok South Florida Soccer Classic title. Freshman
scoring sensation Hunter West – who leads C-USA in points (10) and
goals (5) – tallied twice against the formidable Spartans…TCU posted
its first win of the season in blanking Loyola-Chicago 1-0 at the
SMU NIKE Classic on Friday. Mike Blackburn’s tally in the 79th
minute was the difference for the Horned Frogs…UAB picked up a pair
of wins last week, defeating Western Kentucky (3-2) and the U.S.
Naval Academy (1-0). Forward Nnamdi Ngwe tallied game-winning goals
in both contests for his first and second tallies of the season
leading the Blazers to the Jim ‘N Nick’s/PUMA BSC Fall Classic
Championship…C-USA preseason player of the year Jack Jewsbury broke
out of his quiet funk in a loud manner this week, leading the No. 24
Billikens to a 3-1 thrashing of CAA member James Madison. Jewsbury
scored a goal and added an assist in the win, the second-straight
for the Billikens…Despite a 15-3 shots on goal advantage, Marquette
found itself giving up a tally in the 22nd minute to
previously winless Oakland. Marquette could not find the twine,
despite getting several solid, on-frame opportunities.
The Tally Sheet:
The
following table lists the Conference USA scoring leaders as of
16-Sep-2002:
Player
Team
Goals Assists Total Points
WEST, Hunter
South Florida 5
0
10
O’BRIEN, Dayton
Memphis
3
2
8
THWAITES, Jeff
South Florida 2
4
8
GRANT, Jelani
Louisville
3
1
7
MONTEIRO, Flavio
UAB
3
1
7
PATRICK, Wiremu
Cincinnati
3
1
7
SALGADO, Gabe
South Florida 2
3
7
DEUTSCH, Brian
ECU
1
4
6
FLAVIN, Tim
Charlotte
3
0
6
GREENSLADE, Reid
Memphis
3
0
6
ROJO, Luke
DePaul
3
0
6
RONAN, Dan
Memphis
3
0
6
TOLOMELLI, Fernando Louisville
2
2
6
SCHMIDT, Chris
Memphis
1
3
5
East Carolina Women
This Week’s Slate:
Friday, Sept.
20: ECU at TCU, 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept.
22: ECU at Memphis, Noon
Last Week:
ECU 3, Campbell
1
VCU 1, ECU 0
(OT)
Donnenwirth says:
“We know we can
compete with any team on our schedule. In order for us to dictate
the rhythm of play, we need to play quicker through the midfield and
look to switch the ball more often.”
Looking Ahead:
It’s Conference-USA time for the Pirates and the team couldn’t face
a tougher manner in which to open the league slate than by having to
hit the road for two games right out of the gate. The Pirates face a
less-than-stellar opponent on Friday when the visit TCU (1-4-2). The
Horned Frogs are coming off a 3-0 loss to No. 8 Texas A&M and tied
Rice (3-3) earlier in the week. TCU is a good, young team that plays
possession soccer. In Nicole Carman (5 goals, assist), the Horned
Frogs have a high-powered scorer. And defensively, TCU has talent.
The Horned Frogs played relatively even with Texas A&M until the
Aggies were able to finally solve keeper Ruth DeJong with just 13
minutes left in the game. With just one day to recover, the Pirates
must then travel to Memphis, where the Tigers are off to an
outstanding 3-1 start. Alison Baker (4 goals, 2 assists) and Nicky
McLeod (2 goals) lead a viable attack for Memphis. It was McLeod’s
goal in overtime that lifted Memphis to a 3-2 win over Mississippi
State in the team’s last outing. Goalie Katarina Wicksell is a very
athletic goalie, who can make the spectacular save appear routine.
Rewind:
The Pirates
offense was clicking on all-cylinders against Campbell on Friday as
ECU’s scoring tandem of freshman Meghan McCallion and senior
Amanda Duffy continued to demonstrate that they are one of
the better combos in the league, pacing an attack that outshot its
opponent 25-9. McCallion posted her first collegiate career hat
trick and Duffy served up two of them. The game, however, was won
primarily by the commanding play of midfielders Jennifer Leonard
– a sophomore – and redshirt freshman Rachelle Cabeceiras,
whom Donnenwirth cited as having tremendous games. Against long-time
rival VCU, the Pirates again played solid soccer. It took an
overtime goal, by Leah Robinson midway through the first overtime
period, to seal the loss for ECU. Though solidly outshot (22-8) by
VCU (6-1-0), the Pirates’ defense and goalie Lauren Church (7
saves) were staunch in the contest. The Rams’ lineup is laced with
imported foreign talent, so the match should serve the Pirates well
in gauging their ability to play with top-end clubs. Defender
Penny Perrott also had a strong showing in the back.
On the Pitch:
With her hat
trick against Campbell, Meghan McCallion surged to the top of
the scoring leaders for Conference-USA. The freshman leads the
league with 15 points and is tied with Charlotte’s Courtney Crandell
for top goal scorer at 6…If you want to talk about speed, you need
look no further than junior defender/midfielder Mindy Nixon,
who according to Donnenwirth, has the team’s best set of wheels. The
forward thinking back’s speed allows the Pirates to ask much more of
her in the transition game, where the team knows that she can
usually run her way out of mistakes…The team is sharing in the loss
of one sophomore midfielder Krystel Pabey’s high school
friends who was killed in a car crash. As tight as this team is, it
was felt throughout the lineup. Pabey struggled, understandably, in
managing the stress of playing soccer and losing a friend. To make
matters tougher on the Connecticut native, she suffered a concussion
in the VCU game and is now day-to-day…Senior defender Unicity
Dittmer and junior mid Faith Innis will both be traveling
with the team this week which is long-awaited good news. The defense
has had a hole in it with Dittmer out and Innis will provide
additional punch in the midfield. Both, however, will see limited
playing time as they recover from injury…
Sidelined:
Michelle Kmiotek,
Fr, GK, torn ligament in right thumb – 6 weeks
Unicity Dittmer,
Sr., D, possible for this week
Faith Innis,
Jr., MF/F – possible for this week
Krystel Pabey,
So., MF, Concussion – day-to-day
Around C-USA:
Charlotte shows
no sign of letting up this season as the 49ers absolutely dominated
play at the NIKE Miami Invitational en route to the title. The 49ers
rolled over Miami 5-2 and then rallied to down Florida State 4-3 in
the championship. At 5-0, Charlotte looks like a team that may find
themselves top-seeded as the host of the C-USA tourney…Louisville
saw its two-game win-streak snapped in an unkindly fashion, taking
the brunt of a 4-0 lashing from Northwestern on Friday…Cincinnati
dropped a hard-fought, 1-0 contest to Minnesota last week, dropping
the Bearcats to 4-2 on the season…South Florida collected a pair of
wins last week, knocking off Elon (3-2) and Florida International
(1-0). Rachel Thjomoe tallied the game winner against Elon with only
a couple minutes remaining to lead her team to the JU-Brine/Dennis
Viollet Memorial Classic championship…Saint Louis couldn’t keep pace
with No. 12 Connecticut, falling 2-0 to the Huskies. The Billikens,
did, however, best Davidson earlier in the week 2-0…A first-half
goal by Julianne Sitch was all DePaul needed to best visiting Idaho,
1-0, and push the team’s win-streak to 4…Marquette is also on a
roll, having won three-straight games. The Golden Eagles knocked off
visiting Rhode Island 2-0. Senior goalie Ashleigh Koenig was named
C-USA co-Defensive Player of the Week which was helped by Koenig’s
registering her 16th career shutout in the win over Rhode
Island…A record 1,723 fans showed up to see TCU take on visiting and
8th-ranked Texas A&M and it was a good game for all but
the final 13 minutes as the Horned Frogs eventually fell to their
Texas brethren 3-0…Goalie Leslie Schoeplein was near invincible
between the pipes for Southern Mississippi on Sunday, registering
eight saves in a 3-0 shutout of Gardener Webb. Katie Randolph scored
two goals in the win…UAB’s Jenny Rynders was named C-USA Offensive
Player of the Week and teammate Suzanna LaMotte was the conference
co-Defensive Player of the Week as the Blazers enjoyed a pair of
wins, including a 5-0 pasting of Massachusetts en route to the UAB
NIKE Classic championship. The bigger win, however, was a 3-2
stunner over Georgia compliments of a nifty tally by Rynders in
overtime...Tulane continues to try and get things rolling the right
way, dropping its last contest to Mississippi State 3-1…Houston is
quietly finding success this season, winning its second-straight on
Sunday. The Cougars (3-2-0) picked up victories last week against
North Texas (4-1) and Louisiana-Lafayette (2-1).
The Tally Sheet:
The following
table lists the Conference USA scoring leaders as of 16-Sep-2002:
Player
Team
Goals Assists Total Points
MCCALLION, Meghan
ECU
6
3
15
CRANDELL, Courtney
Charlotte
6
1
13
ADAMS, Katie
Southern Miss 5
1
11
CARMAN, Nicole
TCU
5
1
11
BAKER, Alison
Memphis
4
2
10
DUFFY, Amanda
ECU
2
4
8
GORDON, Kate
Marquette
3
2
8
KNOTTEK, Jill
UAB
3
2
8
SIMONSON, Amy
Cincinnati
4
0
8
SITCH, Julianne
DePaul
3
2
8
HAYES, Jill
Charlotte
3
1
7
MARTIN, Lisa
Louisville
2
3
7
RYNDERS, Jenny
UAB
3
1
7
WAGNER, Tasha
Cincinnati
2
3
7
WARK, Melissa
Louisville
3
1
7
CANHAM, Lindsay
Southern Miss 2
2
6
CIGNO, Christie
Saint Louis
3
0
6
DOTSON-NEWMN, Ogonnaya
DePaul
3
0
6
KIDWELL, Tara
UAB
3
0
6
MORRIS, Lindsay
Tulane
3
0
6
PERRY, Jamie
Saint Louis
3
0
6
RANDOLPH, Katie
Southern Miss 3
0
6
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