GREENVILLE, N.C. – A dominant second quarter helped the East Carolina lacrosse team pull away for a 17-7 win over visiting Winthrop.

The Pirates improve to 2-0 on the season while Winthrop drops to 0-1 on the year.

The Pirates got the scoring started when Megan Tryniski scored an unassisted goal. But ECU’s offense went cold for over 10 minutes while Winthrop was able to rattle off three straight goals. Frances Kimel provided a spark for the Pirates, scoring a goal to end the Winthrop run and then setting Leah Bestany for a tally with 16 seconds remaining in the first quarter to make it 3-3 after one.

That momentum from the end of the first quarter began to snowball in the second. First, Kimel set up Nicole LeGar for a goal to retake the lead. Tryniski and Bestany combined to get a second goal for Bestany followed by Kimel setting up Ellie Bromley and Erin Gulden for a pair of goals within 47 seconds of each other. After a six minute scoreless streak for both teams, LeGar got her second goal of the day off a feed from Payton Barr to make it 8-3. The Pirate run finally came to an end when Winthrop scored at 3:52, more than 15 minutes after the Eagles’ third goal. But the Pirates got the final strike of the half, when Sophia LoCicero scored off a pass from Tryniski.

Leading 9-4 at the break, the Pirates continued to build the lead early in the third. Kimel turned from provider to scorer, finishing an unassisted effort. Tryniski did the same when she buried a pass from Jordyn Cox, the first point in 58 career games for the fifth-year defender. Winthrop got a small lifeline as the Eagles got the final two goals of the quarter, including their second man-up goal of the day, to make it 11-6 heading into the fourth.

The Pirates never allowed Winthrop to get any closer. Kimel completed her hat trick just 38 seconds into the fourth and LeGar added her third goal a minute later. Winthrop made it 13-7 with a goal, but from there, it was all ECU. Tryniski started the run before Carli Johnston got her first collegiate goal 44 seconds after. Bestany completed the hat trick with a spinning goal with 16 seconds left and Caroline Inderlied put the exclamation point on the victory by grabbing the ensuing draw and racing in to score with just eight seconds elapsing.

ECU finished with a dominant 47-21 advantage in shots and an 18-8 lead in draw controls. Winthrop had a slight 14-13 edge in ground balls and both teams had 15 turnovers.

Kimel finished with a career-high seven points on three goals and five assists. Tryniski added five points of her own on three goals and two assists. LeGar had a hat trick for the second straight game and now has 99 career goals while Bestany got the first hat trick of her career. Brynn Knight started in the cage for ECU and made four saves in 30 minutes. Sophie Bandorick took the second half and finished with seven saves.

East Carolina will be back home on Sunday afternoon to take on Presbyterian. First draw is scheduled for 2 p.m., in Johnson Stadium.