This upcoming men’s soccer season, the Bucs will have a new coach at the helm with coach David Casper. Casper spent time on the Kentucky Wildcats staff before taking over the Bucs program.
“From the spring we have been working on getting used to the new system trying to play new shapes and formations, so it’s taking some time for guys to get used to that,” said Casper. “We are trying to be aggressive pressing from the front and we are working to be organized.”
In the Bucs’ first exhibition match this fall, the Bucs played Campbellsville, winning 5-4.
The Bucs finished exhibition play against Radford. Casper believes going into the game it would be a good test to see where the Bucs are heading into the regular season. “I wanted to see that we were improving from Campbellsville as well as if we were understanding our system a little better,” said Casper.
The Bucs open the season against No.3 in the country North Carolina, who is predicted to play for the NCAA championship this year bringing back a lot of pieces. Despite not being the favorite, Casper believes if his team stays committed to the system they can force teams into mistakes they just have to capitalize.
“Relying on our captains and older guys has really helped so far this season,” said Casper. “They do a really good job moving guys around as well as teaching.”
The men are predicted to finish third in the SoCon, but that will not stop them from believing they can win the conference. The conference tournament will be hosted by ETSU this season, giving the Bucs a key advantage.
The women have dropped both their home games to start the season, losing by a combined 4-1. The Bucs return a lot of talent from a year ago with 10 starters. The good thing is they have time to settle in before conference play down the season. The key for them this season will be to win road games, which they were not able to do a season ago. Look for Eleonora Goldoni (Ferrara, Italy) to be among one of the leading goal scorers this season.
