Pirates Open AAC Play With 14-11 Win | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's Note: This post appears here courtesy of ECU Sports.

    GREENVILLE, N.C     A dominant second quarter allowed the East Carolina lacrosse team to start its conference slate with a 14-11 win over Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon at Johnson Stadium.

    The Pirates advance to 8-5 and 1-0 in league play while the Monarchs of Old Dominion fall to 5-8 overall and 0-1 in the AAC.

    The start of the game was back and forth with neither team able to build much of a lead. The Pirates got a pair of goals from Megan Tryniski, with goals from Sophie Patton and Erin Gulden to bring the Pirates up 4-2. Old Dominion would fight back to tie the game but Payton Barr gave the Pirates another lead with a goal at the end of the quarter.

    In the second quarter, Megan Tryniski continued to carry the offensive load for the Pirates. After a Monarch goal and a quick ECU timeout, Tryniski and Gulden combined on a pair of goals with Tryniski scoring the first and Gulden on the second. Frances Kimel and Nicole LeGar each added an unassisted goal to expand the Pirate lead to 9-5. Tryniski made it a 5-0 Pirate run as she scored her fourth goal of the half, with :53 seconds left.

    The Pirate run continued in the third quarter, with Sophia LoCicero adding to the scoring column. Old Dominion finally ended the run when Lily Siskind scored a free position goal. Kimel answered a minute later on a free position goal of her own. The Pirates defense took over from there, allowing just one more Monarch goal in the final eight minutes of the third quarter.

    Although the game seemed to be in hand after goals from Leah Bestany and Tryniski to make it 14-7, the Monarchs started to grab momentum and get back in the game. Old Dominion went on a 4-0 run and threatened to get closer with under four minutes remaining. The run was halted when Brynn Knight made a save on a shot by Siskind that gave the Pirates possession and from there, the Monarchs did not get another shot off for the remainder of the game.

    East Carolina outshot Old Dominion 38-27 and had a 16-12 advantage at the draw circle

    Tryniski led the Pirates with five goals and an assist. Kimel had two goals and two assists while Gulden added two goals and a helper. Flynn Reed had seven draw controls to lead ECU while Alexandra Giacolone scooped up six ground balls and caused three Old Dominion turnovers. Knight finished with four saves in the cage for East Carolina.