With the men’s soccer season winding down and playoffs ramping up, the Mercer Bears came to ETSU to battle the Bucs in the SoCon semifinals. The game ended in regulation with a score of 1-1, but the Bears were able to win in a penalty shootout. The shootout ended 4-3, favoring Mercer, both teams with six attempts.

The Bucs were a 1-seed in the SoCon tournament, with the Mercer Bears coming in as a 5-seed.

The goal for the Bucs came from Lucas Lightner (Clarksville, Tenn.), a header assisted by Gabriel Ramos (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Although the season is over, it was still an excellent run for the Bucs soccer program. Multiple Buccaneers received SoCon honors. F Tarik Pannholzer (Flensburg, Germany), MF Gabriel Ramos, D Chris McKenna (Glasgow, Scotland) and GK Cole Hunter (Mount Juliet, Tenn.) were all named to the SoCon All-Conference 1st Team.

Photo of Gabriel Ramos during soccer game against Mercer. (Dora Mercado/East Tennessean)

F Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand), D Henrik Guenther (Guetersloh, Germany) and D Yves Tcheuyap (Oakville, Canada) were all named to the All-SoCon 2nd Team.

MF Louie Salkeld (New Castle, England) and D Nico Kross (Heidenheim, Germany) were also featured on the All-SoCon Freshman Team.

F Tarik Pannholzer was named SoCon Player of the Year. GK Cole Hunter was also recognized as SoCon Goalkeeper of the Year, and Bucs head coach David Lilly was named as the SoCon Coach of the Year.

The SoCon Championship game will feature No. 3 Furman and No. 5 Mercer on Nov. 12 in Greenville, South Carolina.

For more information about ETSU men’s soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com.

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