ETSU men’s soccer traveled to The North Carolina University at Chapel Hill to play the Tar Heels in a game on Dorrance Field. The Bucs came up short in what was a 0-1 loss to end their four-game road trip. The Bucs drop to (3-2-1) on the season while North Carolina moves to (3-2-0, 0-1-0).
North Carolina had the first shot of the night in minute nine of the match by Akeim Clarke, followed by midfielder Ahmad Al-Qaq trying his luck just seven minutes later. Both of these early shots were denied by the hands of ETSU goalkeeper Cole Hunter (Mount Juliet, Tennessee), who finished his night with two saves.
ETSU’s first opportunity of the game to score came in minute 25 of the first half by senior Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand), but led to a save by UNC goalkeeper Andrew Cordes. Both teams went into the half scoreless, with Carolina out-shooting ETSU 6-2.
Six minutes into the second half, freshman Sam Williams scored his first goal of the season, putting the Tar Heels up 1-0. In minute 68 of the match, Gabriel Ramos attempted a shot from the top of the box but was saved by Cordes, who had a total of three saves for the match. With time running out, Richards, in hopes of tying things up, had his third and final shot of the night in minute 85, but was unable to connect.
Richards led the Bucs with three total shots on the night while Ramos and Ryan Suckling (Surrey, England) had one of their own. The Tar Heels outshot the Bucs 10-5.
Looking to rebound from a tough four-game road trip, the Bucs will return home to Summers-Taylor Stadium on Sept. 20 at 6 p.m., where they will face off against the Gardner-Webb Runnin’ Bulldogs (3-2-0).
