Part two: Bucs and Bears in Birmingham for the second consecutive season
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct. 28, 2022) – On Friday night, the ETSU women’s soccer team will take on the No. 3 seed Mercer at the Shauna Yelton Field in Birmingham, Ala. in the SoCon Tournament Quarterfinal. Drawing the same matchup as last year’s tournament, the Bucs have the opportunity to advance to the semifinal game for the first time since 2018.
THE MATCHUP
ETSU vs MERCER
Friday, October 29 | 7 p.m. | Birmingham, Ala. (Samford)
Live Stats | Watch
ABOUT ETSU
- The Bucs ended the regular season with a 5-6-5 overall record and a 3-3-3 conference mark, which placed the Bucs sixth in the SoCon standings.
- ETSU ended the season dropping only one of their last seven games, earning 12 points in that stretch.
- The Bucs finished tied for second in goals allowed in the SoCon with six, while posting four shutouts in nine conference games.
- Junior forward Emma Arnold (Bristol, Tenn.) leads the Bucs in scoring with four goals and points with nine. She was one of eight Bucs to record at least one assist and scored two game-winners during the regular season.
- The backline pair of Sydney Somogyi (Germantown, Tenn.) and Madi Hook (Fareham, England) were the only two field players to start every game they were featured in. Somogyi with 15 starts and Hook with 16.
- Hook logged the most minutes for the Bucs with 1,292 and Somogyi was right behind her with 1,252.
ABOUT MERCER
- Mercer finished the regular season with a 9-3-6 overall mark and conference play with a 4-1-4 record, which was enough to finish third in the SoCon standings.
- The Bears ended their regular season winning three out of their last four games and were unbeaten in the last eight.
- Mercer finished the regular season with a plus-26 goal difference, while scoring 43 goals.
- Kendall Cook leads the Bears in assists (7) points (19) and was second in scoring (6 goals).
SERIES HISTORY
- The Bucs are 5-12-4 all-time versus Mercer, drawing against the Bears 0-0 in the previous matchup back on Sept. 30 in Macon.
- Friday night will be the second straight year the Bucs will face Mercer in the quarterfinal in Birmingham, Ala.
- The Bucs will encounter Mercer for the sixth time in postseason play, as the first matchup happened in 2011 as members of the ASUN conference.
For more information on Buccaneer women’s soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s soccer tab.