Sophomore defender Sam Curran came off the bench to notch the only goal of the game as Colorado College began its defense of last year’s Conference USA regular-co-championship with a 1-0 victory at East Carolina on Friday night.  

With the end of regulation a little more than 10 minutes away, Curran knocked in the rebound of a cross by junior forward Kaeli Vandersluis just 2:16 after entering the game for the second time. It was Curran’s first goal of the season as well as her first career game winner.

Vandersluis now has been involved in CC’s last five game-winning goals, scoring one and assisting on four others. She leads the Tigers with four assists and is second with eight points.

At the other end of the pitch, sophomore goalkeeper Kate Scheele recorded her fourth consecutive shutout while extending her scoreless streak to a career-best 399.35. With six clean sheets in nine games this year, she has already surpassed her total of four from the 2012 season.

Scheele got considerable help from her back line, which held an opponent to single-digit shots for the sixth time in the last seven games. The sophomore goalkeeper lowered her goals-against average to 0.66 and improved her saves percentage to .846, both of which are season bests.

The Pirates launched just six total shots, only four of which were on target.

Colorado College generated 10 shots, with five getting through to ECU goalkeeper Saundra Baron.

The Tigers, who extended their winning streak to five games, improved to 6-3-0 overall.

CC now has won its C-USA opener six times in eight seasons.

East Carolina slipped to 3-5-2 overall.

Colorado College travels to Murfreesboro, Tenn., for its first ever meeting with Middle Tennessee at 1 p.m. CT on Sunday.