GREENVILLE, N.C. – In a battle of the last two American Conference champions, East Carolina (2-2-5, 1-0-1 AMER) came away with a 1-0 win over visiting UTSA (4-2-3, 0-1-0 AMER) on Thursday night on Bill Clark Homes Field at Johnson Stadium. A 25th-minute score proved to be the difference as the Pirates held off the Roadrunners’ steady attack in UTSA’s first conference matchup of the season.
While the Roadrunners controlled possession early, getting off three shots in the first six minutes of action, the homestanding Pirates slowly worked their way into position and sent the go-ahead score into the top left of the net as Alyssa Tucker drove the left side of the field and cut back to the middle on the 25th-minute goal.
Both teams traded shots early in the second period, but the Roadrunners turned up the heat, firing off four of their nine second-half shots on goal – with three others blocked. Among many UTSA opportunities, the Pirates fended off a solid late chance for the equalizer in the 64th, as Lilli Denhardt’s point-blank take deep in the box beat the keeper but was cleared by a defender at the line. The Roadrunners registered five shots in the final 12 minutes, but ECU came away with seven saves on the night, including six from goalkeeper Olivia Dietrich.
Paced by Sabrina Taber with a career-high five shots, ahead of Leah Varela and Brooklyn Bailey with three apiece, the Roadrunners held the shot advantage, 15-8, including a 7-2 lead in shots on goal.
Goals
UTSA: None
ECU: Alyssa Tucker (25’)
Quoting Coach Derek Pittman
“Tough result tonight. We didn’t play our best in the first half and got punished on a counter-attack for their best chance of the game, but I was really proud of how we responded in the second half. We dominated play and created enough chances to get something from the game, but credit to ECU. We’ll learn from it, regroup and get ready for Charlotte on Sunday.”
UP NEXT: UTSA remains in the Tarheel State to extend the road swing to a weekend matchup with Charlotte at Jen Gaber Field. The Roadrunners and 49ers are set for a noon kickoff on Sunday. Charlotte collected a 3-0 win over North Texas at home on Thursday.
- UTSA -