ETSU to host VMI in hopes of remaining atop the conference standings

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 16, 2017) – After picking up a 2-1 win in a crucial Southern Conference match at UNCG last Saturday, the ETSU men’s soccer team – who now leads the conference standings with 12 points – will host VMI Tuesday night, Oct. 14 at 7 p.m.

Heading into Saturday trailing UNCG by one point for the conference lead, the Bucs took over the top spot with the win and now has 12 points in conference play. ETSU is followed by Mercer (11), UNCG (10), Wofford (9), Furman (8) and VMI (0).

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Last Time Out

After a slow first half that totaled a combined three shots from both teams, UNCG broke through first to take a 1-0 lead early in the second half. ETSU answered quickly with an equalizer six minutes later from freshman Danny Barlow (Newcastle, England).

The deadlock would last until the 83rd minute, as senior Ben Holt (Knoxville, Tenn.) crossed just outside the box on the right side to junior Luke Parker (Memphis, Tenn.) who was standing seven yards away from the goal line. Parker volleyed the pass to the right of the keeper and into the net, giving ETSU the game-winning goal.

The Bucs outshot the Spartans 9-7 in the match, but ETSU turned in a more efficient game with six shots on goal compared to UNCG’s three. The Bucs also fought off six UNCG corner kicks, including four in the second half, to keep the Spartans at bay.

In the game, senior defender Chase Clack (Memphis, Tenn.) hit a career milestone. Clack has now played in over 5,000 consecutive minutes, now totaling 5,076 straight minutes played dating back to the 2015 season opener. Clack is the only position player to accomplish this feat.

ETSU Quick Facts

• The Bucs have only trailed seven times this season and have scored six equalizers in seven attempts. Five of the six equalizers came within 10:00 minutes of falling behind and four of the six have come within 7:00 minutes.

• The Bucs have been to overtime in eight games this year, which breaks the previous program record of seven overtime games set in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

• Five of ETSU’s six wins have come in road games.

• ETSU is 4-0 in Saturday games, which includes road wins over Appalachian State, Liberty, Wofford and UNCG.

• The Bucs hold a 4-1-1 record when scoring first.

• The team compiled a 4-1-2 record in the month of September.

• 99 of ETSU’s 158 shots have come in the second half or later.

• The Bucs had the 17th toughest non-conference strength of schedule in the nation back in late September, as their non-conference opponents combined for a 28-16-6 record and a .620 win percentage before starting conference play.

• Three of six wins for ETSU had game-winners from players who simultaneously scored their first collegiate goals (Ryan Madondo, Danny Barlow, Richmond Taylor).

• ETSU has only been held scoreless thrice this season, all of which ended in 0-0 ties (UNCG, Furman and Mercer).

• Sutherland and the ETSU defense are holding opponents to just 0.84 goals per game, which equates to 12 goals through 13 games.

• The Bucs have six shutouts this season.

• ETSU’s five ties breaks a school record for ties in a season, with the previous record being four ties each in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2015.

About VMI

Virginia Military Institute comes into Tuesday’s game at 0-11-2 overall and 0-6 in conference play. The Keydets are on a nine-game losing skid and have been held scoreless in the last four games.  

In 45 seasons of play, dating back to 1972, the Keydets hold a 174-544-43 all-time record. After leaving in 2002 for the Big South, VMI rejoined the Southern Conference in 2014 – the same year ETSU joined.

VMI is led by head coach Michael Bonelli, who in his second season is seeking his first win in 30 attempts. Bonelli came to VMI from St. Mary’s in San Antonio, Texas, where he led his team to 16 victories over two years to give the program one of the best two-year spans in its history.

Scouting the Keydets

VMI averages 5.1 shots per game and 0.31 goals per game, but leads the conference with 99 saves and 7.62 saves per game. The Keydets also show their discipline with a conference-low 131 total fouls.

Two of VMI’s four goals came off the foot of senior David Wright, who toggles between midfielder and forward and leads the team with 18 shots and nine shots on goal.

The other two goals came courtesy of freshman Willson Tuck, who has appeared in 11 of 13 games with four points on four shots this season.

At keeper, senior Jon Harrington has received 10 of the team’s 13 starts and has combated more shots than anyone in the conference. Harrington has recorded 57 saves while allowing 36 goals.

ETSU and VMI History

ETSU holds an 9-0 all-time record against VMI, with five wins in Lexington and four wins at Summers Taylor Stadium.

The Bucs have outscored VMI by a combined 29-4 in the nine contests, two of which took place in 2008 and 2009 while the others have all been in SoCon action dating back to 2014.

ETSU earned a 5-0 shutout victory in Lexington Oct. 3, as five individuals each scored in the contest. The Bucs have shutout the Keydets in six all-time contests.

Junior Serge Gomis (Dakar, Senegal) picked up a team-high two assists in this year’s VMI game, while Holt, Barlow, senior Richmond Taylor (Hendersonville, Tenn.), junior Nick Spielman (Melbourne, Fla.) and sophomore Bruno Andrade (Sao Paulo, Brazil) each found the net.

ETSU Record Watch

After junior goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland (Chester, U.K) earned his record-breaking 183rd save, the keeper now has his eyes set on a couple more records. Sutherland now needs five shutouts and five wins to tie the program career records held by Coulter in each category.

As mentioned above, Clack has now played in 5,076 straight minutes, becoming only the second player in ETSU history to hit 5,000 career minutes (Coulter) and the first non-goalie to accomplish the feat. Coulter has 5,855 straight minutes, meaning Clack would need to log 780 minutes to break the cumulative record.

Senior forward Fletcher Ekern (Knoxville, Tenn.) has 22 career goals and is four goals away from tying the program career goal record held by David Geno (26). His last score against Radford broke a tie for second place with former teammate Joao Ramalho at 21.

Ekern also ranks fifth all-time for career game-winning goals and needs seven to tie Geno, the current record holder with 11.

After a breakout 2016 season that saw a NCAA-high and ETSU single-season record 12 assists, senior Cameron Woodfin (Old Hickory, Tenn.) is second on the all-time career list at ETSU with 17 total assists. Woodfin needs four more assists to break the program record held by Geno (20).

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