The Bucs hosted the UNC Greensboro Spartans on Saturday Oct. 26. In a close Southern Conference battle, the Spartans defeated the Bucs 1-0.
The Bucs now sit 2-2 in the conference with a regular season record of 6-7-2. The Spartans’ SoCon record stands at 4-1 with a season record of 6-8-1.
Despite the loss, the Bucs put pressure on both sides of the ball. In the early going, redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Josh Perryman (Sheffield, England) acquired a save in the opening minutes of the game. On the offensive side, freshman Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand) managed the ball well, almost scoring a goal, but the Spartans’ defense applied enough pressure to stop the Bucs from scoring.
In a scoreless match for the majority of the game, the Spartans scored the sole point in the final minutes. The goal came by Faisal Almubaslat with an assist by Nelson Oceano.
The points came after a foul on Richards in which the Bucs were down to 10 men on the field. With this advantage the Spartans capitalized with points. The Bucs tried to answer but the Spartans pressured defense caused ETSU to come up short.
Perryman recorded three saves for the Bucs while the Spartans’ goalkeeper had no saves. The Bucs managed to get six shots in on goal while the Spartans outshot them with 11. The Spartans outperformed the Bucs on corner kicks with five while ETSU had three. Red shirt senior Luke Parker (Memphis, Tennessee) led the Bucs in shots with three.
The Bucs regular season comes to a close with just two games left against Belmont and Wofford. The Bucs hope to finish the season strong before the SoCon tournament begins.
“Personally, I want to help my team accomplish goals,” says Junior John Lucchesi (Johnson City, Tennessee).
The first round of the SoCon tournament starts on Nov. 5.
