On Tuesday Sept. 23, the ETSU men’s soccer team faced a fierce opponent in Presbyterian College. This is the fourth year in a row these two teams have competed head to head, with last year’s game ending in a draw.
Before leaving for the match, Head Coach Allen Vital said that he was “very confident” in the Buccaneers and that “the last three games, we’ve shown a lot of improvement and have been really going up in terms of our performances.” Vital also said that “he expects this game to be the best thus far in terms of how the team plays.”
Defensive player Henrique Cruz, he said that he was “very excited and hopeful” for the game against Presbyterian College, and he felt that the team had a “good week in training, following the game against UNC Asheville last weekend.” Cruz added, “every game is a learning opportunity, and we hope to take the most out of it.”
Going into this matchup, the Buccaneers were at a disadvantage with a losing record of (0-4-2), while Presbyterian had an equal record of (3-3-2). The game took place in Martin Stadium in Clinton, South Carolina, and started at 8 p.m. At halftime, both teams were on even keel with a score of 0-0. ETSU’s Ryan Suckling scored the first goal of the game a little after the second period started, pushing the Buccaneers to the lead. Towards the end of the game however, Iragi Kalala scored a point for Presbyterian College. The final score of this game was 1-1, resulting in a draw.
You can catch the next ETSU men’s soccer game on Monday Sept. 29 at 6 p.m., where they will play against Virginia Tech at Summers-Taylor Stadium in Johnson City, Tenn.
For more information on the ETSU men’s soccer team, you can visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the soccer tab.
