GREENVILLE, N.C., Oct. 27, 2019 – No. 21 University of South Florida women's soccer rallied on offense and earned its sixth straight win against East Carolina on Sunday. The Bulls (12-3; 7-1 The American) challenged the Pirates (5-10-2; 2-5-1 The American) defense all afternoon to secure the 3-1 win.
 
With the win, the Bulls clinch a first-round bye in the American Athletic Conference tournament. South Florida will play in the conference semifinals as the first or second seed on Nov. 7.

Aubrey Megrath (West Palm Beach, Fla.) tallied two assists in the win, with Evelyne Viens (L'Ancienne-Lorette, Quebec, Canada), Andrea Hauksdottir (Kopavogur, Iceland) and Fanny Pelletier-Laroche (Montreal, Quebec, Canada) scoring the goals for the Bulls.  
 
USF challenged ECU from the opening kick. The Bulls took four shots before Megrath sent a ball on goal that created a rebound opportunity for Hauksdottir. The senior midfielder found the rebound in front of the net and immediately redirected it into the goal to give USF the 1-0 lead.
 
While the Bulls would take eight more shots during the first half, the score at halftime would remain 1-0 in favor of USF.
 
ECU would even the score six minutes into the second half. Cashlin Copley received a pass and drilled a shot that beat Sydney Martinez (Rincon, Ga.) to tie the game at 1-1.
 
Five minutes later, Pelletier-Laroche scored her first goal of the year to put USF back in the lead, 2-1. Another five minutes later, in the 62^nd minute, Viens scored off an assist from Megrath to increase the Bulls' lead to two and seal the 3-1 win. 

USF took 19 shots in the win, with 12 on target. In the first half alone, South Florida took 14 shots with eight going on goal. In the second half, the Bulls scored two goals on four shots on goal.
 
 Quotable
 Head coach Denise Schilte-Brown on the road trip…
 "Two wins in a weekend but not easily done. It was a really tough trip with two flights and bus trips and going from turf to grass. It's never easy to get wins in these situations and the girls really fought through that adversity. I'm proud of them for that. We had a great team experience just being together. We went to a haunted house together. We're getting a lot out of this journey together. They're a great group of girls. I'm proud of them for getting the wins, and I'm excited that they're being rewarded for their hard work. This is just the tip of the iceberg. We have to go to work and grow and improve from this experience because there are still some up-and-downs and lots of things to get ready for."
 
 Key Stat
 9 – The Bulls have won their last six games, dating back to the win against Houston on Oct. 3. In that timespan, USF has outscored its opponents by nine (12-3) and tallied three shutouts.
 
 Notable

• Megrath's two assists were a career-high for the senior. She previously had recorded one assist four times.

 
Up Next
The Bulls finish the regular season with a game at UCF on Oct. 31. Opening kickoff is at 6 p.m.
  
 About USF Women's Soccer
 Be sure to follow USF women's soccer on social media (Twitter / Instagram/Facebook) and visit GoUSFBulls.com for the most up-to-date information. 
 
 The USF women's soccer team has posted seven consecutive seasons of 10-plus wins and nine in the last 10 years under head coach Denise Schilte-Brown. The Bulls made their first NCAA tournament appearance in 2010 and returned in 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.
 -#GoBulls-