SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Oct. 19, 2008) - The ETSU men's soccer team ended a four-game skid, picking up its first ever Atlantic Sun conference win Sunday night as the Bucs defeated USC Upstate in overtime at the County University Soccer Stadium in Spartanburg, S.C., 2-1.

"Its good for us to get on track in the conference, and to get back to playing the kind of soccer that we were playing in the beginning of the year," said head coach Scott Calabrese. "The guys have worked very hard and their spirits are up. We were unlucky to have only scored one goal in regulation with all of the chances that we had. You could tell by the attitude and effort of the team that they really wanted to win tonight."

The Bucs (5-7, 1-4 A-Sun) controlled play in the first half as ETSU outshot the Spartans 3-0. ETSU had a couple scoring chances in the first, but the Bucs were unable to get on the board as the game was scoreless going into the half.

In the second half, the Bucs did not waste any time as Tony Nunes (Concord, N.C.) collected a through ball from Aaron Schoenfeld (Knoxville, Tenn.) and beat the USC Upstate keeper one-on-one to put ETSU up 1-0 in the 46^th minute. The goal was Nunes' first of the season.

Both teams picked up the pace in the second half as the Spartans outshot the Bucs 6-3 in the half. USC Upstate scored an improbable goal in the 74^th minute as Ben Brennan took a shot from 45 yards out that went through the hands of James Holt (Murfreesboro, Tenn.) and into the goal to tie the game at 1-1. Neither team was able to net a go-ahead goal late in the half as the game went into overtime.

ETSU wasted no time in overtime as Sean Hoek (Newburgh, Ind.) broke free in the offensive half and rocketed a shot that was saved by Peter Davis, but Schoenfeld was in great position as he settled the rebound from the shot and fired it into the back of the net to give the Bucs their first ever conference win. The goal came 11 seconds into the first over time period in the 91^st minute, and marks the first goal of the season for Schoenfeld. The Knoxville native, came into the match with no points on the season as he picked up three points on the night with the game-winning goal, and the assist on the Nunes goal.

"It was a great effort by Aaron," Calabrese said. "He is finally starting to get on track for us, as he had to recover from some early season injuries. Aaron gave us some quality minutes, and I think his best soccer is ahead of him, as I think he will do some good things for us as we look to make the conference tournament."

The Bucs outshot the Spartans 7-6, and had four shots on goals and four corner kicks. Holt led the team defensively with three saves, picking up his fifth win of the season.

"The guys are committed to making the conference tournament," Calabrese added. "You can tell they have confidence, and that is a big part of any team's success. I think we can use our success tonight to energize our team, and use this game as a springboard to do well the rest of the season."

ETSU is back in action on Oct. 23 at 4 p.m. as they will host conference opponent Mercer at Summers-Taylor Stadium. Please visit www.ETSUBucs.com for more information on ETSU men's soccer or any other Buccaneer athletic team.