The ETSU men’s soccer team faced the Wofford Terriers at home in a quarterfinals match-up on Saturday.

The Bucs faced the Terriers twice during the regular season, splitting the series 1­-1.

In Saturday’s tournament match, the Bucs defeated Wofford 5­-0, allowing them to advance to the semifinals.

Failing to convert goals seemed to be a pattern early for the Bucs. Around the 37­-minute mark, the Bucs missed a potential goal. They failed to convert near the goal area again at the 24:31 mark.

Despite the failed scoring attempts, they stayed composed and remained aggressive on defense to force turnovers.

The scoring drought ended at the 20:36 mark when Mitchell Cecatiello helped the Bucs take a 1­0 lead after taking a shot inside the penalty area.

The Bucs scored again at the 18:19 mark when Fletcher Ekern scored in the penalty area, giving the Bucs a 2­-0 lead.

The Bucs defense was impressive throughout the first half, constantly putting pressure on Wofford.

Ekern helped the Bucs to a 3-­0 lead, scoring another goal at the 10:40 mark. The Bucs offense was on full display at the 5:13 mark when the Bucs scored again, this time by Henrique Novaes. This gave the Bucs a 4­-0 lead.

At the half, the Bucs led 4­-0 after only kicking nine shots. Their defense rarely let Wofford get near the goal, allowing only three shots.

Throughout the second half, the Bucs’ primary focus was defense. They didn’t try to be too aggressive, it seemed; they were content with the lead they had.

At the 28:27 minute mark, the Bucs’ pressure forced a breakaway score for James Smith, which gave the Bucs a 5­-0 lead. The Bucs went on to shutout Wofford to advance to the semifinals.

The Bucs had not scored five goals since the first game of the season.

“We still have some things to clean up in the backfield,” said coach Bo Oshoniyi. “Just like tonight, when we get chances, we have to finish.”

The Bucs will face UNCG on Friday at 3:30 p.m. The teams tied both times they played in the regular season.

With a win, the Bucs would knock off the top-­seeded team in the conference, which would give them a shot to win the SoCon championship.

Author

  • Edwin Nelson

    Edwin Nelson is a Sophomore from Chattanooga who moved to Johnson City to pursue a journalism degree at ETSU. His passion for writing about sports — especially basketball — is what led him to choose journalism as a major and join the East Tennessean staff. When he’s not watching the Bucs play, he’s watching his favorite professional basketball team, the Cleveland Cavaliers.

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