Sept. 23, 2011

Match Notes l Live Stats l Live Video (fees apply)

GREENVILLE, N.C. - The East Carolina soccer team will look to continue its stellar play when Friday night when they travel to Colorado College to open Conference USA action. Game time is set for 6 p.m. (ET).

The Pirates (5-1-1), who are coming off a 2-0 shutout win over Francis Marion, has not dropped a match since the season opener when they fell to then No. 21 South Carolina, 4-0. A trio of upperclassmen in Leah Bagonis (senior), Caty Butler (junior) and Kimmy Cummings (senior) lead the Pirates offensive attack that ranks first in C-USA in assists (19), third in points (49) and tied for fourth in goals (15), while ranking 54th nationally in scoring offense.

Bagonis has dished out a career-best five assists to lead the Pirates and currently ranked 22nd nationally. Butler, who has recorded at least one point in 5 of the last 6 contests, is tied with Cummings for the lead in points (12) and goals (five).

In goal, Christiane Cordero posted her second shutout of the season (fourth career) at Francis Marion last week in a 2-0 win. The sophomore keeper has allowed nine goals in seven starts, and has posted a 1.27 goals against average with a .750 save percentage. Nine of her 27 saves came against No. 21 William & Mary, a season-high for the Valencia, Calif. native.

CC enters Friday's game with a 2-4-2 record after tying Fresno State (1-1) and defeating the University of Arkansas (5-0) last weekend. The Tigers also are 2-1-2 in their last five games.

Colorado College holds a slim 3-2-1 advantage in the series with ECU, including a 3-2 victory last season in Greenville. The Tigers are 2-0-1 against the Pirates since dropping a 2-1 decision in the 2008 C-USA Tournament. CC has won both previous meetings in Colorado Springs.

Freshman midfielder Kaeli Vandersluis continues to pace the Tigers with nine points (3 goals/1 assist), while junior forward Brittney Lyman (3 goals) is right behind. Sophomore forward Lauren DiGregorio (1 goal/3 assists) leads CC in assists and is third in points.

Junior goalkeeper Hanna Berglund allowed just one goal last weekend and has lowered her goals-against average to 1.89 and raised her saves percentage to a season-high .673. CC is 2-1-1 at home so far this season and has outscored its opponents 8-3 at Stewart Field.

Inside the Series: Colorado College leads 3-2-1
Oct. 29, 2006 - W, 2-1 (Home)
Oct. 26, 2007 - L, 2-1 (Away)
Oct. 17, 2008 - T, 0-0/2OT (Home)
Nov. 7, 2008 - W, 2-1/OT (Houston, Texas)
Oct. 16, 2009 - L, 1-0 (Away)
Oct. 24, 2010 - L, 3-2 (Home)

Against C-USA Members: 36-29-12
Colorado College: 2-3-1
Houston: 6-2-0
Marshall: 4-1-1
Memphis: 0-8-2
Rice: 4-2-0
SMU: 2-4-1
Southern Miss: 9-0-0
Tulsa: 5-0-0
UAB: 1-2-4
UCF: 0-6-2
UTEP: 3-1-1

Pirates Off To Best Start In School History
The Pirates enter Conference USA play in the midst of their best start in school history with a 5-1-1 overall record ... Since dropping their home opener to No. 21 South Carolina (4-0), the Pirates have posted a 5-0-1 ledger, which included four-straight wins before tying No. 21 William & Mary in double-overtime (2-2) ... The unbeaten streak of six games ranks third all-time in program history behind their 13-game streak in 2008 and an eight-game stretch in 2007 ... The unbeaten streak is tied with UCF for the second longest active streak in C-USA behind Memphis' eight-games ... Below is a closer look at how the Pirates have fared through the first seven games to open a season:
2011: 5-1-1
2010: 4-3-0
2009: 4-1-2
2008: 5-2-0
2007: 4-1-2
2006: 4-3-0
2005: 2-5-0
2004: 2-4-1
2003: 3-2-2
2002: 3-2-2
2001: 4-3-0
2000: 4-2-1
1999: 5-2-0
1998: 5-2-0
1997: 3-4-0
1996: 3-4-0
1995: 1-6-0
1994:1-6-0

Bagonis, Butler and Cummings Among NCAA Best
A trio of upperclassmen enter Conference USA play ranked among the league and NCAA leaders in points per game, goals per game, assists per game and total assists ... Senior Leah Bagonis is 12th in assists per game (0.71) and 22nd in total assists (5) ... Caty Butler and Kimmy Cummings both are ranked 50th nationally in goals per game (0.714) and 51st in points per game (1.71) ... In league action, both Butler and Cummings are tied for first in goals (5), while ranking second in points (12) behind UCF's Trisha Jewell ... Bagonis is stands alone in assists (5) also trailing Jewell.

Record Watch (Top-5)

Career Goals
1. Meghan McCallion - 39 in 80 gms. (2002-05)
2. Amanda Duffy - 33 in 74 gms. (1998-02)
3. Kim Sandhoff - 27 in 71 gms. (1997-00)
4. Kelly Gray - 21 in 70 gms. (1998-01)
5. Jennifer Reiley - 19 in 54 gms. (1996-99)
6. Amanda Malkiewicz - 18 in 67 gms. (2008-pr.) ** Caty Butler - 11 in 45 gms. (2009-pr.)
** Kimmy Cummings - 11 in 66 gms. (2008-pr.)

Career Assists
1. Kim Sandhoff - 28 in 71 gms. (1997-00)
t2. Meghan McCallion - 18 in 80 gms (2002-05)
t2. Amanda Malkiewicz - 18 in 67 gms. (2008-pr.)
4. Amanda Duffy - 17 in 74 gms. (1998-02)
5. Krystel Pabey - 14 in 74 gms. (2001-04)
** Leah Bagonis - 12 in 64 gms. (2008-pr.)
** Jessica Abshire - 11 in 67 gms. (2008-pr.)

Career Points
1. Meghan McCallion - 96 in 80 gms. (2002-05)
2. Amanda Duffy - 83 in 74 gms. (1998-02)
3. Kim Sandhoff - 82 in 71 gms. (1997-00)
4. Amanda Malkiewicz - 54 in 67 gms. (2008-pr.)
5. Kelly Gray - 48 in 70 gms. (1998-00)

Streaks Extended
Jessica Abshire and Amanda Malkiewicz entered their senior seasons each with a 60-game starting streak intact ... Malkiewicz extended her streak to 67 games after picking up her latest start at Francis Marion (9/18), while Abshire's came to a halt in the season opener ... Below is a closer look at current double-digit starting streaks that are active heading into this weekend's matches:
67 Games - Amanda Malkiewicz (started 8/22/08) 27 Games -Hali Oughton (started 10/30/09) 26 Games - Christiane Cordero (started 8/20/10) 26 Games - Kimmy Cummings (started 8/20/10) 19 Games - Leah Bagonis (started 9/24/10) 15 Games - Maddie Maurer (started 10/3/10) 14 Games - Kendall Booth (started 10/8/10) 13 Games - Candace Mowery (started 9/13/09 - has been injured in 2011)

Cummings Record Hat Trick
Kimmy Cummings recorded her first career hat trick at Old Dominion (8/21) helping East Carolina to a 4-1 win. With the score knotted at one, Cummings received a through ball from freshman Beth Batchelor in the 41st minute breaking the tie and netting her first career game-winning goal.

In the 66th minute, Cummings was all-alone on the right side of the field and booted a ball past the Monarch keeper for a 3-1 lead. Just six minutes later, the senior forward capped off the magical afternoon with her third goal sending a shot to the right of the box past the keeper on another through ball, this time from fellow classmate Amanda Malkiewicz. For Cummings it was her second career multi-goal game and the first ECU hat trick since Meghan McCallion netted three goals against DePaul on Oct. 1, 2004.

Butler Named C-USA Offensive Player-of-the-Week
Caty Butler picked up her first career C-USA weekly honor on Aug. 29 after she helped the Pirates to a 2-0 win over instate rival UNC Wilmington on Aug. 25. The junior netted both goals marking her first career multi-goal game of her career. In the 10th minute she received a through ball from senior Leah Bagonis and scored from 21 yards out staking the Pirates to an early 1-0 lead, her third career game-winning goal. In the 61st minute she sealed the victory with another through ball from Bagonis and beat the Seahawk keeper one-on-one for her second strike of the night.

First Career Starts
Freshman Mackenzie Semerad recorded her first collegiate start in the season opener against South Carolina ... The Arizona native has logged 281 minutes on the pitch and scored her first collegiate goal at Davidson (9/2) and dished out her first collegiate assist at Charlotte (9/4) ... She is tied for second on the team in assists (2) and tied for fourth in points (4).

First Collegiate Goals
Along with Semerad, fellow classmates Kelly Johnson and Lexi Miller have also netted goals during their rookie seasons on the field ... Both Johnson and Miller's goals were against No. 21 William & Mary last week in the double-overtime tie ... Johnson scored in the 42nd minute off a pair of passes from Cummings and Miller inside the box to tie the game at one ... Miller capped off her best game in her young career with another Pirate equalizer in the 71st minute on a header.