Coming into their match against the University of North Carolina at Greensboro on Oct. 7, the ETSU women’s soccer team was 7-4-1 and 2-1 in conference play.

The Bucs came into their match against UNCG coming off their four-game road trip finishing it 3-1. Those three wins were their first three road wins. Most impressively the Bucs were 5-0 at home, where they take much pride at playing.

For the Bucs, their defense was solid against UNCG, only allowing four shots by the defense with only two shots being at the goal. The only issue with the Bucs was the amount of times they were off sides.

The Buccaneer offense was very aggressive compared to UNCG. The Bucs had 13 shots with six being at the goal. Though the Bucs were getting shots at the goal they weren’t able to convert them to points until the first half at eight minutes.

ETSU sophomore star Eleonora Goldoni (Ferrara, Italy) scored her 10th goal of the season to give the Bucs a 1-0 lead. Goldoni was assisted by senior Molly Collinson (Cramlington, England) and sophomore Irina Brutsch (Zurich, Switzerland).

Goldoni currently leads the SoCon in goals on the season and is tied for second in goals per games, points per game and points. Goldoni is currently ranked sixth in the country in goals this season.

The Bucs defense was able to control the second half with their defense shutting out the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1-0. For the Bucs, it’s their fifth shutout this season.

The Buccaneers improve their record to 8-4-1 and 3-1 in conference play. They remain perfect at home with a 6-0 record. With the win over conference opponent UNGC, the Bucs moved to a tie with Samford for first place in the SoCon standings.

The team has shown much improvement from a season ago with the development of younger players being able to perform for them in and out of conference play. The Bucs are currently, ranked 22nd in the country in scoring offense and 15th in the country in goals per game, averaging seven goals.