GREENVILLE, NC – The East Carolina soccer team played the Longwood Lancers to a 1-1 draw in their final exhibition match of the preseason on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Stadium.
The Pirates controlled much of the first half Carsen Parker tallying the lone goal of the period. Following an ECU free kick in the 10th minute, Holly Schlagel had a shot attempt blocked in the box, leading to a carom off a defender, right to Parker who punched it in for a one-goal lead.
East Carolina had more chances in the first half, controlling the time of possession and racking up 10 shots in the period, but were unable to find the back of the net in the second time. The Pirates went into the break leading 1-0.
In the second half, it was Longwood who found some offense. Their score came off of a penalty by Catherine Forst in the 62ndn.d minutes. Forst struck the ball with power to the upper right of the goal, striking the crossbar and dropping down past the goal line.
That tally would be the final one of the game despite both teams pushing to the end and creating several more late scoring opportunities.
Maeve English started in goal for the Pirates, recording one assist before being spelled by Maggie Leland in the 76th minute. For the Lancers, Mary Kate Levush was forced to make five saves before she was replaced by Grace Workman in the 78th.th minutes.
Quotable
“I was very pleased… we created quite a lot of chances in the first half,” said Head Coach Gary Higgins. “We kept applying pressure in the first half but just didn’t get that second goal… We didn’t really have that same intensity in the second half for whatever reason but at the end of the day it’s another 90 minutes… We made a lot of changes; some people got some minutes which is what preseason is about. We’ve just got to learn from it and move on to the real thing next week.”
Up Next
The Pirates will open up regular season play by hosting the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils on Thursday at 7 pm at Johnson Stadium. The game will also be available for streaming on ESPN+.
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