Aug. 23, 2010

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina women's soccer team opened up the 2010 season with a 1-1 record on the weekend. Chrissy Gratz helped ECU rebound in their home opener netting the game-winning goal in a 4-1 win over Francis Marion Sunday afternoon. The Pirates dropped their opening season match to four-time defending Southern Conference Champions UNC Greensboro, 2-0 on the road Friday night.

Current Streak: W-1

Last Week: 1-1
Aug. 20 - Loss at UNC Greensboro, 2-0
Aug. 22 - Win vs. Francis Marion, 4-1

Upcoming Week:
Home vs. No. 10 Wake Forest (Aug. 27)
Away at Old Dominion (Aug. 29)

Pirate Offensive Player-of-the-Week
Chrissy Gratz, F, Sophomore
Gratz helped the Pirates to a 1-1 opening weekend ... The sophomore forward netted her first goal of the season, third career, against Francis Marion in a 4-1 home opening victory ... Gratz was credited with the game-winning unassisted goal in the 38th-minute of play - her first career game-winner ... She recorded a game-best five shots in the Pirates win and on the weekend recorded seven shots, three on goal (.429 SOG Pct.) in two games.

Pirate Defensive Player-of-the-Week
Christiane Cordero, GK, R-Freshman
Cordero posted her first collegiate win in her second career start in goal against Francis Marion ... The redshirt freshman logged four saves and allowed one goal against the Patriots ... During her first collegiate start, she surrendered a pair of goals to UNC Greensboro in 90-minutes of action ... In two games this season, Cordero has allowed three goals (1.60 GA avg.) in 168:20 minutes.

PIRATE NOTES:
First Career Starts: Christiane Cordero (GK) and Kimmy Cummings (F) recorded their first career starts in the season opener against UNC Greensboro ... Cordero allowed two goals in 90-minutes of action in the box, while Cummings logged 53 minutes at the forward position.

Collegiate Debuts: Through two games on the young season, six Pirates have made their collegiate debuts ... Cordero experienced action in the season opener posting her first collegiate start, while Brittany Batts (MF), Ashley James (F), Katlin Povich (F/MF), Amanda Reynolds (D/MF) and Anne Workman (MF/D) got on the field against Francis Marion.

Streaks Extended: Six Pirates extended their current starting streaks through the opening weekend ... Junior's Amanda Malkiewicz and Jessica Woodward pushed their consecutive starting streaks to 43 games, while Preseason All-Conference USA selection Bailey Wilcox extended hers to 21-straight matches dating back to the start of the 2009 campaign ... Three other players currently have streaks in double-digits heading into Friday's contest with nationally-ranked Wake Forest (Candace Mowery/13, Stephanie Shaw/12 and Amanda Broz/11).

Still Undefeated Vs. Francis Marion: With their 4-1 win over the Patriots on Sunday, Aug. 22, the Pirates improved to 4-0-1 all-time against Francis Marion ... In five total matches, the Pirates have outscored the Patriots 14-2 and have won all three games in Greenville.

Spreading The Love: Six different players have recorded points on the season in two games ... Butler, Gratz, Malkiewicz and Wilcox all netted goals against Francis Marion, while Jessica Cunningham and Amanda Windsor dished out assists ... For Windsor it was her first career assist.