The Bucs played their second Southern Conference game against the Mercer University Bears on Saturday at home in Summers-Taylor Stadium.
On Sept. 27, the Bucs played their first SoCon game against Furman resulting in a 0-0 tie in double overtime. Against Mercer, the Bucs were looking for the win and came away with just that.
With the 2-0 victory over Mercer, goals came from Cameron Woodfin (Old Hickory, Tenn.) and Serge Gomis (Dakar, Senegal).
In the first half, the Bucs had little possession compared to the Bears.
Mercer was in constant attack on ETSU goal for the majority of the half, but they were unable to capitalize for a goal.
The Bucs have been a second half team lately, and goal-scorer Woodfin recognizes the need to improve on that moving into the rest of the season. However, the win tonight made a big statement.
Woodfin scored his third goal of the season tonight in the 7th minute of play, with the ball coming off a hit away shot by the Mercer keeper.
“If we can start sealing out these games, especially with two goals, that gives us a little bit of a comfort zone,” Woodfin said. “And we need to keep capitalizing like that.”
Not only did Woodfin send the Bucs up 1-0, but added in an assist to Gomis in the last 10 seconds of the game to put the Bucs at 2-0 to seal the win.
Head Coach Bo Oshoniyi recognizes how heavily the boys have been relying on the defense, and while they have done their job well, it is nice to see goals on the board.
Defender Joe Pickering (East Sussex, England) and the rest of the line were solid once again, earning their fourth shutout in the last five games.
“We just seem to work with each other well,” Pickering said.
The win against Mercer is a special one at home, as this is only the second time in seven meetings that the Bucs have beat Mercer at Summers-Taylor. It is also the first time Head Coach Bo Oshoniyi has had a win against Mercer.
“The guys get fired up to play here,” Oshoniyi said. “It’s a good place to be and it’s a good place to get results.”
ETSU remains 4-0 at home, and will travel to Wofford on Tuesday in the hopes of another SoCon win while getting some points on the road.
