The ETSU men’s soccer tied Georgia State University 2-2 Saturday.
The men’s team went into their game with an overall record of 3-3-1 with back-to-back wins.
“The mindset is that we are going to be organized defensively and look to attack from there.” says head coach David Casper. “We’ve kind of had a mindset the last couple of weeks to make sure we bend but don’t break and trying to break the other team.”
The Bucs tied the Panthers 2-2 after two rounds of overtime.
The Bucs dominated possession early on in the game and had the advantage of 5-0 in shots within the opening 45 minutes.
“We are trying to play in their half of the field and take away their options,” says Casper.
Despite the many efforts to make it onto the scoreboard, the game would remain scoreless going into the second half.
“Hit them on the counter-attack, once we defend well, and then when we do get into their half, repress and keep the game there,” says Casper.
A turnover from the Bucs and a rounded shot allowed the Panthers to double their lead in the second half. The Bucs had their eyes set on an equalizer in the 82nd minute, but a shot to the crossbar would bounce off the goal-line for a Buccaneer corner instead.
The Bucs would make their way onto the scoreboard after a penalty kick taken by freshman Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand). The Bucs equalizer would come soon after in the 90th minute after a driven cross from freshman Phillip Hildebrandt (Charlottenlund, Denmark) to red-shirt junior Joe Pickering (East Sussex, England) lasering a side-footed volley into the net.
The Bucs would go on to play in 20 minutes of overtime, but neither team would be able to take the win.
“I think when adversity hits you, a young group, you don’t know they are going to respond, and I think we have done a decent job so far,” says Casper.
You can go cheer on the men’s soccer team in Boone, North Carolina, as they take on Appalachian State on Tuesday, Oct. 1.
