Back-and-forth bout favors Wofford as Bucs fall in SoCon opener

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Sept. 30, 2014) - ETSU was unable to outlast Wofford Tuesday night in Spartanburg, S.C., as the Terriers came from behind twice to pick up a 4-3 Southern Conference win.

Playing in their first SoCon matchup of the season, the Buccaneers (4-4, 0-1) quickly introduced themselves to league opponent Wofford, as ETSU scored twice within the match's first 16 minutes; however, the Terriers (5-3, 1-0) countered with a goal of their own each instance.

Senior defender Nick Muth (Knoxville, Tenn.) gave the Bucs an early, 1-0 lead, scoring the first goal of his ETSU career in the fifth minute.

Following a throw-in by senior co-captain Jeremy Saad (Sydney, Australia), junior Henrique Novaes (Vinhedo, Brazil) headed the ball to Muth, who finished the score.

Less than five minutes later, however, Wofford's Matthew Aurednik, the Terriers' leading goal scorer, converted a diving header off a pass from Kevin Hady to tie the game at 1-1. The score was the seventh of the season for Aurednik, who was named SoCon Men's Soccer Player of the Week earlier in the day.

ETSU responded in the 16th minute with a goal from their own leading scorer, redshirt sophomore Joao Ramalho (Monte Santo, Brazil).

Ramalho's 16th-minute, unassisted goal was his seventh of the year. The Monte Santo, Brazil, native entered Tuesday's matchup ranking eighth in the nation for goals per game.

Again, the Terriers responded quickly, finding an equalizer just 81 seconds later, with Charlie Keeley converting a header off a pass from Carlos Dominguez-Gonzalez.

Wofford would take its first lead of the match in the 36th minute on a goal by Connor Davis, allowing the Terriers to enter intermission with a 3-2 lead.

Fifteen minutes into the second half, Aurednik found the back of the net once more for Wofford, extending the Terriers lead to 4-2.

Freshman Robin L'Excellent (Digosville, France) scored his first collegiate goal in the 74th minute off an assist from Jorge De Gyves (Queretaro, Mexico), cutting the Bucs' deficit to one goal; however, ETSU would get no closer, suffering a 4-3 setback to open league play.

The win was Wofford's fourth consecutive victory. Entering Tuesday's match, the Terriers' scoring offense ranked 26th in the nation.

LOOKING AHEAD

ETSU will continue SoCon play as the Bucs host former Atlantic Sun running mate Mercer Saturday, Oct. 4 at 7:00 p.m., before hosting fellow SoCon newcomer VMI Tuesday, Oct. 7 at 7:00 p.m.

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