Soccer Preseason Comes To An End
August 15, 2017 | Soccer
GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina soccer team wraps up preseason workouts this week and focuses its attention to Friday night's season opener against Dayton at Johnson Stadium. The Pirates welcomed 14 newcomers this August who joined forces with 14 returners on Aug. 1 when the team reported to campus.
Â
"One of our goals [during preseason] was to evaluate all our players in a competitive environment," 19th-year head coach Rob Donnenwirth said. "We still have some players out but I thought our overall game improved from our first match. We were much more compact defensively in the second game but we still have things to work on. I thought we created some good chances in the second match but we need to take advantage of those."
Â
Practice began with the team's annual fitness test on Aug. 2 and the Pirates competed for the first time together Aug. 8 on the road at VCU. ECU hosted Elon Aug. 13 in the second of two exhibition games, its final tune-up before Friday's season opener.
Â
"I feel we had a lot of good performances but we can get better collectively," Donnenwirth said. "This is natural with so many new players so we need to find the best combinations that work for us."
Â
With three days to fine tune the squad before Friday night's match, Donnenwirth says the focus is improving defensively.
Â
"We need to get better defending crosses," Donnenwirth said. "This goes from crosses in one-on-one situations and defensive organization in the box. Dayton is a great team and they have one of the best goal scorers in the the country so we need to be focused and locked in defensively."
Â
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Johnson Stadium Friday night with gates opening an hour prior.
Single-game tickets for all ECU homes games are still available to Pirate Nation and can be purchased by calling the ECU Athletic Ticket Office at 252-737-4500, through the Online Ticket Center, or by visiting the ECU Athletics Ticket Office. For all the latest ticket information, follow the ECU Ticket Office on Twitter (@ecuathletictix).
Â
"One of our goals [during preseason] was to evaluate all our players in a competitive environment," 19th-year head coach Rob Donnenwirth said. "We still have some players out but I thought our overall game improved from our first match. We were much more compact defensively in the second game but we still have things to work on. I thought we created some good chances in the second match but we need to take advantage of those."
Â
Practice began with the team's annual fitness test on Aug. 2 and the Pirates competed for the first time together Aug. 8 on the road at VCU. ECU hosted Elon Aug. 13 in the second of two exhibition games, its final tune-up before Friday's season opener.
Â
"I feel we had a lot of good performances but we can get better collectively," Donnenwirth said. "This is natural with so many new players so we need to find the best combinations that work for us."
Â
With three days to fine tune the squad before Friday night's match, Donnenwirth says the focus is improving defensively.
Â
"We need to get better defending crosses," Donnenwirth said. "This goes from crosses in one-on-one situations and defensive organization in the box. Dayton is a great team and they have one of the best goal scorers in the the country so we need to be focused and locked in defensively."
Â
Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Johnson Stadium Friday night with gates opening an hour prior.
Single-game tickets for all ECU homes games are still available to Pirate Nation and can be purchased by calling the ECU Athletic Ticket Office at 252-737-4500, through the Online Ticket Center, or by visiting the ECU Athletics Ticket Office. For all the latest ticket information, follow the ECU Ticket Office on Twitter (@ecuathletictix).
ECU Soccer Selection Show
Monday, November 11
Head Coach Gary Higgins Post Houston Interview
Friday, September 23
Women's Soccer at SMU Highlights
Friday, September 16
Gary Higgins Post Florida Interview
Monday, September 12
