Marshall University Athletics
Marshall University
East Carolina University
ECU Outlasts Women's Soccer, 3-2
10/31/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Oct. 31, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
GREENVILLE, N.C. - East Carolina University took a 3-2 double-overtime victory over Marshall University women's soccer team Friday afternoon at Bunting Field to conclude Conference USA and regular season action. The Thundering Herd finish 5-10-4 overall, 3-8-0 in the league, while the Pirates conclude 12-3-4 on the season, 7-0-4 in conference play.
"This was a tough game because we were down at half," Marshall's interim head coach Kevin Long said. "Today's match was again the tale of us not rising to the challenge in the first half."
The Purple and Gold scored first as Blair Heffner drilled her sixth goal of the season at the 3:36 mark. Savanna Russo played it to Jessica Swanson who passed it to Heffner in a breakaway.
Amanda Malkiewicz notched her fourth goal of the season in the 20th-minute to advance ECU ahead, 2-0, going into the half. Swanson played it to Alexis Foltz who crossed it to Malkiewicz for the score.
The Herd answered as sophomore forward Erika Duncan (Easthaven, Scotland) registered her ninth goal of the season at the 52:40 mark. Sophomore forward Missy Gordon (Carmel, Ind.) assisted on the play.
Freshman forward Angela DeSumma (Doylestown, Pa.) scored her first collegiate goal in the 63rd-minute from a Duncan pass. DeSumma, 15th in the nation in assists per game (0.61/game), placed the tying goal from the right into the high part of the net.
ECU's finishing goal was a Heffner header in the 106th-minute. Jessica Woodward played it to Jessica Cunningham who crossed it to Heffner to give the Pirates the victory.
"The season has been a roller coaster for the team," Coach Long continued. "This experience is a stepping stone for the future."
ECU enhanced its all-time series lead over Marshall, 3-0-1, dating back to 2005.
The Pirates out-shot the Herd 16-10, with ECU placing six on goal, while Marshall notched seven on goal.
Junior forward Molly Snead (Cincinnati, Ohio) also had three shots, two placed on goal.
Junior co-captain keeper Liz Orton (Fort Collins, Colo.) and freshman keeper Lauren Roberts (Rome, Ga.) shared time between the pipes today. Orton notched two saves in the first half, while Roberts had one to finish the match. ECU's Amber Campbell registered five saves.
Orton finished the season with 74 saves and 1,688 minutes. She has registered 264 saves in her three-year career, which puts her at the top of the program's all-time career saves list.
Duncan concluded the season with 52 shots, 20 being on goal. Her 2008 shots places her fourth on the program's all-time single season shots list. In two years, Duncan has tallied 77 shots, which puts her eighth on the Herd's all-time career shots list. Duncan's nine season goals has her tied for fourth with Kassie Hollman's 2006 finish on the all-time single season goals list.
DeSumma's eleven assists in 2008 puts her second on the program's all-time single season assists list and tied for third on the all-time career assists list.
Senior defender Erin Johnson (Mansfield, Ohio) has 79 appearances with 66 starts, which puts her first in all-time career matches played and tied for fifth in all-time career starts in her four years with the Herd. She earned ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District II Team honor yesterday, as announced by CoSIDA.
With the victory, ECU clinched its first-ever C-USA title.
"We had a good pool of talent this year," Coach Long added. "We will grow and mature in the off-season to prepare for next season."
Marshall's opponents out-scored the Herd 38-29 in 2008.
The Herd's away record is 4-6-2, while the home record is 1-4-2 for the season.
Herd fans can view and purchase photos from the 2008 women's soccer season at http://herdsportsphotos.exposuremanager.com/ under "2008 Women's Soccer."
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