CARY, N.C.— The East Carolina women's soccer team put on a second-half show for the Pirate fans, but fell just a little short to No. 9 Texas, 5-3, at SAS Stadium in Cary, N.C.

On a hot and humid night, the Pirates (0-1) saw the Longhorns (1-0) jump out to a first half 2-0 lead. Kelly McDonald got Texas on the scoreboard in the seventh minute of play when she received a pass in the goal box from Nikki Thaden.

The Pirates held off the Longhorns most of the first half until Priscilla Fite score on a free kick in the 33rd-minute of the half.

"We gave them (Texas) a lot of opportunities early in the game and they capitalized on them," said ECU head coach Rob Donnenwirth. "Good teams find a way to win and expose any weaknesses that you have."

In the second-half of play, the Pirates had a different look in their eyes as they scored three second-half goals. Sophomore Meghan McCallion scored a pair of goals on midfield passes from Rachelle Cabeceiras at the 69th-minute and Krystel Pabey in the 82nd-minute. The Pirates last goal came on a steal by Melissa Penny in the closing ten minutes of the game.

"The good thing about tonight is that we never gave up. There was a chance where we could have made this game 5-4 in the last three minutes. But this is the first game and we have some wrinkles to iron out, and that's what we will do in practice."

Texas forward Kelly Wilson scored three second-half goals and her goal in the 78th-minute mark sealed the Longhorn victory.

The Pirates will host Liberty University in their home opener on Aug. 31 at Bunting Field at 2 p.m.

               Texas           ECU 
Goals           5               3 
Shots           17              8 
Corner Kicks    5               5 
Saves           3               4 
Fouls           4               6