MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The University of Memphis women’s soccer squad locked up a fourth regular-season championship in a row in the American Conference on Friday night, Oct. 30, blanking East Carolina 3-0 at home and claiming the top seed for the league tournament.
Sophomore Ellis Kelly did most of the damage with two goals and an assist. She opened the scoring early in the first half, running onto a long ball from freshman Abby Forsgren and finishing to the left side. Before halftime, a Kelly shot was blocked by Pirates goalkeeper Olivia Dietrich, and Zerina Markovic was there to knock in the rebound at 31:29 for a 2-0 lead.
Kelly closed it out at the 71-minute mark, stealing the ball, cutting onto her left foot and hitting the upper corner. Her five points tied a career best. Forsgren set up both of the first two goals and now has eight assists this season.
The numbers were lopsided. Memphis outshot East Carolina 23-4, put nine shots on goal to one and won the corner count 9-1. The Pirates did not get a shot off until early in the second half.
At 10-3-3, with a 7-0-2 mark in league games, Memphis is still the only unbeaten team in the conference. Their unbeaten run against American opponents is now 38 straight matches, and their last conference loss came at SMU on Oct. 27, 2022. The four straight regular-season crowns are the longest such streak in league history.
East Carolina dropped to 3-5-9 and 2-3-4 and closes its regular season at home against South Florida on Tuesday. Memphis now turns to the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed.
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