The ETSU men’s soccer team traveled to Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Sept. 10 to face off against the USC Upstate Spartans inside the County University Soccer Stadium. A full 90 minutes of gameplay wasn’t enough for either team, as the game ended in a draw with a final score of 0-0. This was the first time these two teams have met since back in 2013 where the Bucs won 4-1 inside Summers-Taylor Stadium.
Redshirt senior Cole Hunter (Mount Juliet, Tennessee) was back in his usual starting role as goalkeeper for the Bucs. Hunter ended the afternoon with a total of four saves.
The Bucs recorded 10 shots with one being on target by Carlos Portas (Barcelona, Spain) and three corner kicks all in the first half of the game. The match remained tied up going into the half.
The blue and gold were able to put some pressure on Spartan goalkeeper Luca Bulfon, where he had three saves in the second half of the match. In the same half, the Bucs also earned themselves six corner shots and recorded three shots on target, but were ultimately unable to connect on any of these potential scoring opportunities.
ETSU out-shot USC Upstate 18-8 with Portas leading the team with five shots, three of those being on target. Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand) was not far behind as he had four total shots of his own in this out-of-conference game. The Bucs move to 3-1-1 on the season and the Spartans fall to 0-3-1.
The Bucs will end their four-game road trip on Sept. 13 where they will face the North Carolina Tar Heels (2-2-0) in Chapel Hill. Kickoff for this game is set at 7 p.m. on Dorrance Field. The last time these two teams saw each other was Aug. 24, 2018, when North Carolina defeated the Bucs 1-0.
