The ETSU men’s soccer team had a rematch against the Wofford College Terriers on Saturday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
The Terriers took down the Bucs 1-0 on Oct. 4, giving them their first and only SoCon loss of the season so far.
The Bucs were looking for a comeback, and they got one, defeating Wofford 2-1. The entire match was a physical test to both teams, with fouls called back and forth on both sides.
ETSU defense had a moment of confusion on the ball early in the first half, resulting in an own-goal off a Wofford free-kick. This goal was the only one awarded to Wofford for the night.
With the loss against Wofford at the first of the month in mind, that first goal at home changed the mentality of the game that the Bucs did not have at Wofford.
“The overall energy and overall mentality was better tonight than at Wofford,” said Head Coach Bo Oshoniyi.
Offensively, the Bucs have come together again with goals by Fletcher Ekern (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Joao Ramalho (Monte Santo, Brazil).
Ekern brought home a strong header, assisted by Ramalho, with five minutes left in the first half to send the Bucs in with a tie and the chance to come back strong in the second half.
After starting off the first half slow, Ekern recognized that they just had to keep moving forward and get numbers up in order to make big things happen.
“We just have to keep our foot on the gas and keep on winning,” Ekern said.
Oshoniyi is proud of the offense for continuing to find the flow that is working, and despite the disappointing score on their own goal, the defense has come together as well.
“We are starting to find our way a little bit and continuing to create chances ,” Oshoniyi said. “Tonight we were able to finish those”
Oshoniyi also sees this game against Wofford as a testament to the players coming off the bench, such as Ethan Snow (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Keegan Sanders (Kennesaw, Ga.), who came on to finish the game when injury and fatigue set in to the starting players.
“It’s a big step forward, and you’re only as good as your next game,” Oshoniyi said. “So we have to take this, evaluate it and get ready for VMI.”
On Tuesday, the Bucs travel to VMI for their second meeting while they near the end of conference play.
