Members of the men's soccer team were reminded of one of the game's unwritten rules Sunday during their match against East Carolina — don't stop playing until the whistle blows.

Seven minutes into overtime, a few of the Golden Eagles expected a hand ball foul to be called against one of the East Carolina players and stopped playing.

Referee Rizal Milliken contemplated calling a foul. He put his whistle in his mouth, according to men's head coach Steve Adlard, but opted not to use it and let play continue.

That decision proved costly for the Golden Eagles.

"They were able to play the ball across to the left side. There were a few players not marked up in the box," Marquette freshman goalkeeper Steven Grow said.

"There was a shot to my right and I made the save, but the rebound went out to the [penalty kick] spot and they had three unmarked guys there and one of them knocked it in," he said.

Pirates' sophomore midfielder Calvin Simon was credited with the game winning goal that lifted East Carolina to a 3-2 overtime victory past Marquette Sunday afternoon in Greenville, N.C.

"When you're on the road in overtime it's tough to get the call," Grow said.

"It's a harsh learning experience. Next time we'll have to hear the whistle five times before we stop playing," he said.

"When you appeal (to the referee) dispassionately, then it's gamesmanship," Adlard said. "But when you get frustrated and appeal, then it interferes with your ability to keep playing."

Even though the team was disappointed by the nature of the loss, the coaching staff was encouraged that the players didn't give up and forced the match into overtime after falling behind 2-0 early in the first half.

The Pirates got on the board 14 minutes and 17 seconds into the game when senior forward Terron Amos scored his eighth goal of the season from 18 yards out.

"We told our guys that he can do this, this and this and we let him do this," Adlard said. "I wasn't amused by that."

The second goal was equally disheartening because it came on the counterattack, something that the Golden Eagles have been susceptible to for much of the season.

"That's stuff we've been working on for most of the year," Adlard said. "They got a breakaway from our throw in.

"We were pressing, the ball fell loose and there was a clearance to goal. We acted like we were in shock, like we were unaware the ball could break free."

Junior midfielder Matt Kowaleski scored on the breakaway with just under seven minutes to play in the first half and senior midfielder Reed Avren picked up the assist.

"In the first half, that was not our team, we all knew that," Grow said. "In the first half we felt like different people. No one was playing to their potential."

The Golden Eagles showed what they were capable of in the second half.

Sophomore forward Matt Blouin cut the deficit to one when he collected a deflection inside the box, turned and beat East Carolina sophomore goalkeeper Brian Pope left post at the 54 minute mark.

"When it went 2-1 early in the second half our (confidence) was restored," senior captain Danny Mullin said.

Five minutes later, freshman forward Mike Manone scored the unassisted equalizer from 10 yards out.

Marquette kept up the pressure for the remainder of the match, but failed to get a goal, a whistle or the victory.