Two first-half goals were the difference as the No. 3-seeded ETSU men’s soccer team went on to defeat No. 6 Lipscomb 3-0 in the first round of the Atlantic Sun tournament on Saturday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
In the program’s second year of existence, ETSU men’s soccer also picked up their first win in Atlantic Sun tournament play. With the win, the Bucs move on to the conference semifinals on Thursday in Buies Creek, N.C., as they will take on No. 2 Stetson.
“This is a great win and a milestone for the ETSU men’s soccer program,” said head coach Scott Calabrese. “Lipscomb did a much better job in this game making things very difficult for us. I am proud that our guys were able to find a way to win today and to overcome the adjustments that Lipscomb made.”
The Bucs (6-8-3, 4-4-1 A-Sun) outshot the Bisons (6-10-3, 3-4-1 A-Sun) 10-7 in the match with five shots on goal to only three for Lipscomb. The Bisons had a 7-1 advantage in corners in the match.
“To go to the conference semifinal in only our second year gives our players a great deal of experience,” Calabrese said. “We are a team determined to keep playing, and now we have to start preparing for Stetson on Thursday.”
Senior Scott Rosman came up big for ETSU making three saves en route to his sixth shutout of the season. The win was his sixth of the year and ties an ETSU record of six from last season.
The Bucs got a lucky break in the 19th minute as Josh Lind of Lipscomb sent a ball back for Bisons keeper Brent McGee that had a little too much pace on it and went into the net giving ETSU a 1-0 lead.
ETSU added a second goal in the 27th minute as Aaron Schoenfeld headed a pass from freshman Theo Yang into the back of the net to extend the Buccaneer lead to 2-0.
Junior Andrew Brown put the game out of reach in the 74th minute as Kyle Franklin hooked up with Brown for a breakaway goal to put the Buccaneers up 3-0. The nail-in-the-coffin goal marked Brown’s first net of the season.