Men’s soccer hosts Terriers before commencing conference tournament

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 20, 2017) – After clinching a first round bye in the Southern Conference tournament, following a 1-0 overtime win at Mercer, the ETSU Bucs return home to close the regular season against Wofford. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Summers Taylor Stadium.

Tomorrow’s contest will serve as ETSU’s senior night, where seniors Ben Holt (Knoxville, Tenn.), Jeffrey George (Safety Harbor, Fla.), Samuel Sevigny (Quebec City, Canada), Chase Clack (Memphis, Tenn.), Fletcher Ekern (Knoxville, Tenn.) and Richmond Taylor (Hendersonville, Tenn.) will be honored 10 minutes prior to kickoff.

Around the SoCon

The Bucs currently sit atop the Southern Conference – tied for first with UNCG – with 19 points. Neither team can finish lower than second in the seeding, meaning both teams will receive byes in the conference tournament.

ETSU holds the tiebreaker over UNCG after winning the head-to-head series 1-0-1, meaning a win or matching result with UNCG Saturday would result in ETSU earning the top seed for the second season in a row.

Furman currently sits in third place with 15 points, followed by Wofford (12), Mercer (11) and VMI (0).

Last Time Out

After battling to overtime with a scoreless draw, ETSU stunned the Mercer Bears with a late goal in the 98th minute to earn a 1-0 victory in Macon, Ga. Tuesday, Oct. 24.

The play started when Ekern crossed a pass intended for freshman forward Danny Barlow (Newcastle, England) from the right side of the box. Barlow, who was heavily defended, forced enough pressure to cause a deflection and ultimately an own goal for Mercer, giving the Bucs the pivotal road win.

In the process, junior goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland (Chester, U.K.) recorded three saves and his eighth shutout of the year.

ETSU Quick Facts

• ETSU remains the only undefeated team in Southern Conference play, owning five wins and four ties with no losses.

• 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 10 games this year, which breaks the previous program record of seven overtime games set in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

• Six of ETSU’s eight wins have come in road games.

• ETSU is 4-0-1 in Saturday games, which includes road wins over Appalachian State, Liberty, Wofford and UNCG.

• The Bucs hold a 6-1-2 record when scoring first.

• ETSU’s October record is 4-0-3.

• 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.

• 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 0.74 goals per game, which equates to 13 goals through 16 games.

• Speaking of Sutherland, the junior goalkeeper now has an .817 save percentage.

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

About Wofford

After starting the season 0-10, Wofford has found new life in conference play with a 4-5 record. After falling 3-2 to ETSU for its 10th loss, Wofford turned around and upset UNCG and Furman on the road to spark momentum. It’s other two wins have come against VMI, including a 6-0 victory last Saturday.

The Terriers began its men’s soccer program in 1975 and has recently seen its fair share of winning records, including five consecutive seasons dating back to 2012. Last season, Wofford compiled its second highest win total in program history, finishing 12-7.

Wofford is coached by 10th year head man Ralph Polson. Polson led his team to two conference titles within his first seven seasons and is responsible for the second-most wins in program history.

Scouting the Terriers

Wofford has scored 19 goals since its last meeting with ETSU Sept. 30, a large improvement from its previous total of four goals through the first nine games. Wofford now averages 1.35 goals per game.

Furthermore, Wofford has only suffered one shutout since kicking off conference play. That shutout came in the Terriers’ last game against Furman, which spoiled Wofford’s senior night in a 2-0 final.

Leading the charge for Wofford is Johnson City native and former Science Hill High School standout Lucas Altman. The sophomore midfielder has a team-high 11 points and five goals, including scores in three straight games beginning with ETSU Sept. 30.

In goal, sophomore Matthew Reynolds and junior Hunter Wages have split time almost equally, with Reynolds receiving nine starts and Wages earning eight. Each have played a little over 700 minutes apiece, and both have near identical save percentages (Reynolds .586 and Wages .581).

ETSU and Wofford History

Tomorrow will mark the 12th all-time meeting between ETSU and Wofford, dating back to 2008. Polson has been on the sideline for every meeting in the series, while ETSU head coach Bo Oshoniyi will face the team for the ninth time.

ETSU leads the all-time series with a 6-3-2 record, including a 3-0-2 mark in Summers Taylor Stadium. The Bucs have also won four of the last five contests.

Home field advantage meant something to both teams, as ETSU’s 3-2 win earlier this year marked the first time the Bucs have beaten Wofford on the road in the Bo Oshoniyi era. The previous three attempts, dating back to 2014, eluded the Bucs.

Last season, the teams spilt the regular season. Wofford struck first with a 1-0 victory at Snyder Field in early October before ETSU would answer 11 days later with a 2-1 win in Johnson City.

ETSU Record Watch

After Sutherland’s record-breaking 183rd save two weeks ago against Mercer, the keeper now has his eyes set on a couple more records. Sutherland now needs three shutouts and three wins to tie the program career records held by Ryan Coulter in each category.

Sutherland is also two saves away from the 200 save milestone and would become the only ETSU keeper in history to hit that number.

Senior defender Chase Clack (Memphis, Tenn.) has now played in 5,375 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 481 minutes to break the cumulative record. Adding in the 141 minutes he played as a freshman in 2014, Clack also has 5,516 career minutes and needs 339 more to tie Coulter for total career minutes.

After adding his third goal of the season last Tuesday, Ekern has 23 career goals and is four goals away from breaking the program career goal record held by David Geno (26).

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