ETSU men’s soccer opened their season at home inside Summers-Taylor Stadium on Aug. 24. In only their second-ever meeting, the Bucs faced the Georgia Southern Eagles, where ETSU secured the win with a final score of 1-0 and moved to 2-0-0 all-time against their opponents.

Photo of ETSU men’s soccer team players during game against Georgia Southern. (Kellsie Hicks/East Tennessean)

This season’s team includes four Buccaneers selected to the SoCon’s Preseason All-Conference team. While there is an influx of talent on this season’s squad, second-year ETSU coach David Lilly knew facing the Eagles would have unique challenges.

“We didn’t know what to expect; there was no video. We knew that they were going to come more improved from last year because they have got a great coaching staff and a lot of new players,” said Lilly.

Tarik Pannholzer (Flensburg, Germany) received the Bucs’ first scoring opportunity early in the game but could not capitalize. Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand) also attempted to score the inaugural goal of the new season, but the Eagles’ defense blocked the Bucs.

Georgia Southern had chances of their own to get ahead in the game. ETSU goalkeeper Cole Hunter (Mt. Juliet, Tenn) blocked a shot from Manuel Prieto just 12 yards out in a stunning dive. 

In the 27th minute of the game, the Bucs finally found the back of the net. Grabbed from a corner kick for the Bucs, Israel Garcia-Perez (Asheville, N.C.) was able to push his way through two Eagle defenders before delivering a winning pass to Gabriel Ramos (Sao Paulo, Brazil), who scored the lone goal of the night.

“We played the corner, and the ball went down too easy in the edge of the box. He [Israel Garcia-Perez] could find me, and I could finish quick before the keeper was able to defend it,” said Ramos.

In the second half, the Bucs saw several scoring opportunities but just couldn’t put the ball into the net, still holding on to win a hard-fought game. Coach Lilly was happy with his team’s performance but knows there is room for improvement.

“I don’t think we played our best, but we found a way. I guess we would rather be learning lessons with a win than any other way. I just think we had to find a way and get over the finish line with it.”

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