East Carolina Soccer Stuns FIU, 2-1, in OT
Sophomore Kendall Frey tallies the game-winner in the 94th minute

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MIAMI, Fla. – Sophomore forward Kendall Frey scored a golden goal in the fourth minute of the first overtime to lift the East Carolina women’s soccer team to a 2-1 Conference USA road win over Florida International Friday evening at the FIU Soccer Stadium.

“It was a great win for us,” said head coach Rob Donnenwirth. “We had to battle for everything out there.”

The overtime win was the Pirates’ second of the season and their first since pulling the trick at home in double overtime against Western Carolina on Sept. 1

East Carolina (5-8-2, 2-4-0 C-USA) was first to light up the scoreboard in the 11th minute of the contest, when redshirt sophomore midfielder Lexi Herring  gathered a loose ball off a scramble in front of the FIU (5-9-0, 3-3-0 C-USA) net after a corner kick and beat the goalkeeper to make the score 1-0.

“It was good to score on a set piece early,” Donnenwirth said. “It was something we were working on today in pregame.”

The Panthers responded with a relentless offensive attack that included 11 shots in the first half, with the 11th shot resulting in their first goal of the match, tying the score 1-1 with just one minute remaining before the intermission.

ECU found itself on the defensive side for the majority of the second half, but held off eight more FIU shots to keep the score knotted at one and force the game into overtime. It was in the 94th minute that Frey took a service pass from striker Stephanie Seagrave and finished a shot past FIU’s goalkeeper to give the Pirates their first road win in league play this season.

Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Saundra Baron made four saves on the evening to collect her fifth win of the season.

“The back line did well,” Donnenwirth said. “Saundra made some good saves when she was called upon.”

FIU outshot ECU, 20-6, in the match and owned a 12-5 advantage in corner kick opportunities, but the Panthers were unable to hold off the Pirates’ first attack in overtime.

“I thought Florida International was very good,” Donnenwirth said. “They had some great attacking personalities.”

East Carolina will return home to host Florida Atlantic (3-8-4, 1-2-3 C-USA) on Sunday, Oct. 20 at 1 p.m. at the ECU Soccer Stadium. The ECU Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) will be collecting canned food items at the stadium entrance prior to the match. Fans donating two or more canned goods will receive free admission.