Tulsa Leaves East Carolina with 2-2 Draw

Sunday, October 15

Greenville, N.C.

11:00 am

Tulsa

3-7-5, 1-1-4

East Carolina

8-3-4, 3-1-2

Team	1	2	Final F
Tulsa	0	2	2
East Carolina	0	2	2

Tulsa Leaves East Carolina with 2-2 Draw

10/15/2023 4:53:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score

Box Score (PDF) | Season Stats (PDF)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Tulsa's Sunday matchup at East Carolina had all the drama in the second half as the Golden Hurricane scored twice to take a late lead before allowing a goal in the final seconds to settle for a 2-2 draw against one of the top teams in The American Athletic Conference.

Tulsa moves to 3-7-5 on the season and 1-1-4 in conference play, while the Pirates move to 8-3-4, 3-1-2 in The American. It's the first draw at home for ECU this season and only the second time in six games the Pirates didn't win at home, after getting beat by Memphis 1-0 on Thursday.

"I was really proud of the team," Tulsa head coach Jim Rhein said. "We were a completely different team than we were on Thursday night. They came out and fought hard and played for each other. They didn't get down when we went down a goal. It was night and day from the game against Charlotte. Thursday was not a good game for us, but they fixed it. That's a big thing for us. When something goes wrong, we try to fix it, and they did that today."

Jadyn Chee scored Tulsa's first goal late into the second half off an assist from Jordan Frederick to tie the match. A few minutes later, Frederick scored one herself with a stunning strike. She now leads the team in goals and assists, with four and three, respectively.

"After ECU's first goal, the team got together and decided it wasn't going to happen, they were going to do something about it," Coach Rhein said. "I thought Jordan Frederick was outstanding today."

In goal, Tatum Sanders played the whole 90, making three saves. Her counterpart for East Carolina, Maeve English, was forced to make four saves.

Now finished with the three-game road swing, Tulsa returns to the Hurricane Soccer Stadium to face Temple on Thursday afternoon. The game has a 1 p.m. kickoff and will air on ESPN+.

How it Happened
The Pirates were on the front foot for a lot of the first half. The hosts held more possession and outshot Tulsa 8-3 in the opening 45 minutes. However, ECU struggled with getting shots on target thanks to Tulsa putting pressure on its attackers, and the Hurricane came away with a 2-1 advantage in shots on target. Kaylyn Simmons had a good look at target with 10 seconds remaining in the half. From outside the box she took a left-footed strike, but English was there to make the comfortable save.

ECU picked it up in the second half, earning six corners to Tulsa's one. It finally paid off in the 51st minute when a corner hit a Tulsa defender and went into the net to put ECU up 1-0.

Only one team has scored on the Pirates at home this season, No. 9 Memphis, so when the hosts get ahead, they often win. Tulsa was not deterred however, and found an equalizer in the 77th minute. Simmons created a turnover near midfield and started a counterattack that gave Tulsa a three on one the other way. She laid it off for Chee, who passed to Frederick. Frederick took a touch before getting it back to Chee, who had the whole net in front of her and tucked it away to tie it at one.

Now, it was Tulsa's turn to put pressure on the Pirates as Tulsa gained possession on a throw-in near midfield. Once again, it was Simmons causing problems for the ECU backline as she turned her defender on the right side near the boundary and raced down the wing. The Pirates failed to properly clear the ball and it fell to Piper Szafranski. She took a touch and left it for Frederick, who's right footed shot from the right side of the box was unsavable, giving Tulsa a 2-1 lead only a minute after scoring the first goal.

The Hurricane defense held firm over the final 12 minutes, trying to preserve the 2-1 lead. As time ran down, it seemed it would take a wonder strike for the Pirates to avoid two consecutive home losses, and that's exactly what they got. With seven seconds left on the clock, Annabelle Abbott received a pass roughly 25 yards from goal, settled it and connected cleanly on a shot that nestled in the upper left corner of the goal past a diving Sanders.

Tulsa earned a free kick right after the kickoff. Sanders played the ball in, but there was not enough time to get more than a touch on the ball before time expired, and TU would have to settle for a road point and a 2-2 draw.

Game Notes

Tulsa was outshot 19-9 on Thursday, but held a 6-5 advantage in shots on target.
ECU held a 6-1 advantage on corners and 5-1 in the second half.
Tulsa's two goals were the most the Pirates have given up at home this season and joint-most with No. 14 Duke and Florida for goals scored against ECU at all.
Today's match is the third-straight draw between ECU and Tulsa.

Scoring Summary
Tulsa 0 2 - 2
ECU 0 2 - 2

Individual Scoring
Juliana Viera (ECU) at 50:52
Jadyn Chee (Tulsa) at 76:42 (Jordan Frederick)
Jordan Frederick (Tulsa) at 78:00 (Piper Szafranski)
Annabelle Abbot (ECU) at 89:90 (Sydney Schnell)

Goalkeeper Saves
Tatum Sanders (Tulsa) – 3
English Maeve (ECU) – 4