East Carolina tops Charlotte for fourth-straight win, 3-1
CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Caty Butler, Kimmy Cummings and Amanda Malkiewicz each scored goals as East Carolina (4-1) extended its current win streak to four games with a 3-1 win over former Conference USA foe Charlotte (2-2-2) Sunday afternoon at Transamerica Field. The win streak is the longest since the Pirates reeled off four consecutive wins in 2007 (Sept. 21-Oct. 5).
The Pirates scored the game’s first goal when Caty Butler put a shot in from about 30 yards out into the back of the net off a Leah Bagonis assist in the 24th minute. For Bagonis it was her team-leading fourth assist of the season.
”I thought it was a good performance by our team today,” said head coach Rob Donnenwirth. “It’s tough to go on the road to play two games and to be able to come away with a pair of wins is really nice.
”Our counter attack was working well today and we got some really good goals in transition from Caty (Butler) and Kimmy (Cummings). We had a good attack pretty much all afternoon, but our final pass or ball could have been better at times. I think Charlotte had a hard time getting behind our defense and had some half chances. But overall I was very pleased with the weekend.”
Charlotte had several scoring chances in the first half but shots by Macky Wingo, Jenna McKeon, Jonna Handra and Dakota Olson were either blocked, went wide or were stopped by Pirate goalkeeper Christiane Cordero, who recorded a season-high eight saves.
Early in the second half, Charlotte had a chance to tie the score when Amanda Jones' free kick from about 25 yards banged off the post in the 50th minute. She nearly scored on the rebound off the cross bar but her shot was punched out of bounds by a diving save by Cordero.
East Carolina scored their second goal when Kimmy Cummings scored on a left-footed shot from about 25 yards out off an Amanda Malkiewicz assist in the 54th minute. Cummings, who leads the team in goals (5) and points (10), played 80 minutes logging just one shot.
The Pirates third and final strike came in the 68th minute when freshman Mackenzie Semerad fed Malkiewicz for her first goal of the season and 18th of her career.
Charlotte's Wingo scored her first goal of the year when she put the ball into the back of the net from eight yards out off a cross by Sarah Ann Waugh in the 74th minute.
The 49ers held a 15-11 shot advantage with Wingo taking six, four on goal. Malkiewicz led ECU with five shots; four on goal while freshman Brett Thomas add four.
The Pirates will be back in action on Sunday, Sept. 11 when they play host to William & Mary at the ECU Soccer Stadium at 2 p.m. (ET).
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