GREENVILLE, N.C. – The East Carolina soccer team defeated the Houston Cougars 1-0 on Thursday night in Johnson Stadium. Jazmin Ferguson scored the winning goal and ECU earned their fifth shutout of the year.

The goal for Ferguson was the first of her career and came off of a perfectly served corner from Sierra Lowery. Taking the corner from the right side of the pitch, Lowery sent her second assist of the year to the far side of the goal where the freshman defender headed the ball back across and into the upper right corner of the goal.

The game was scoreless through the first half and there were not many chances to speak off. One of the few chances, though, was an Isabella Gutiérrez header from inside the six-yard box which trickled tantalizingly close to the out, left of the goal.

Sydney Schnell had another great chance for the Pirates, hers coming in the second half when she cut in from the right side of the pitch and fired from close to 25 yards out. Schnell’s shot curled in, looking nearly perfect until it went only slightly wide of the upper left corner of the goal.

Part of the reason there were not many chances to score throughout the game was the tremendous effort of the ECU defensive back line. In addition to Ferguson’s goal, she contributed a header on yet another team save – the third time she has made such an effort on the season and one that does not show up in the box score.

Junior goalkeeper Maeve English is once again credited with the win and the clean sheet. With five shutouts on the year, English has set a new career high in the category.

Key Stats

  • The Pirates are 2-0 for the first time since 2012 (C-USA) and the first time since joining the American Athletic Conference.
  • Ferguson’s goal makes her the seventh Pirate to find the back of the net this season.
  • ECU and Houston combined for only nine shots on the game, with six of them coming from the Pirates. Each team also only served up one shot on goal.
  • ECU earned five corners on the game and scored their second goal of the season off of a corner with Carsen Parker’s winner at George Mason being the other. The Cougars earned seven.

Up Next
The Pirates are at home once again on Sunday for a non-conference affair with UNC Greensboro at 5 p.m. in Johnson Stadium. The game is free to attend and will be available for streaming on ESPN+.