The East Carolina University women’s lacrosse team (1-3) were outmatched in its fourth game of the year, losing badly to Liberty University, 15-4 yesterday evening at Johnson Stadium.
“I think we all were a little bit flat,” lacrosse head coach Amanda Barnes said following the the game.
The Pirates got off to a terrible start, allowing Liberty to win the draw then score less than a minute later. Just moments later, ECU went down a player after freshman midfielder Casey Sullivan received a penalty for pushing, leading to four straight Liberty goals.
After falling into a quick 7-0 deficit and the game approaching halftime, the defense for ECU started to pick up at the end leading to freshman attackman Nicole Legar’s scoring opportunity, which she connected on to send the game into the half at 9-1.
The Pirates were inconsistent with the ball, turning possession over 16 times in just the first half. They were also unable to convert on shot attempts, scoring on just 1-for-9 opportunities. The first 20 minutes consisted of all ECU defense as Liberty controlled the ball throughout most of the half. In the next few days, practice is one area Barnes said the team could improve in.
“We need to take care of the ball more, protect our sticks and we need to value our possessions,” Barnes said. “A lot of our turnovers were unforced errors and that's unacceptable lacrosse.”
Liberty pressured ECU nonstop throughout the game, at times double or triple teaming Pirate attackmen. The aggressiveness of the Eagles’ defense led to poor passes on the Pirates side, often making ECU look out of sync on offense.
“It's a defensive scheme Liberty runs,” Barnes said. “It was not necessarily a lack of effort on our part, it was just a defensive tactic that was very effective by Liberty’s team.”
In an attempt to catch up, freshman attackman Ally Stanton had a great opportunity after Liberty’s goalie Aubrie Tarris stepped out the goal. Stanton used the empty net to score the second goal for the Pirates. ECU scored two more times thanks to freshman midfielder Mackell Schultes and sophomore attackman Emma Bowman, but it was not enough to come back to defeat the Eagles.
The Pirates now prepare to face Campbell University on Saturday at noon in Buies Creek, North Carolina.
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