Bucs score in the 67th minute to force overtime  

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct. 28, 2022) – On Friday night, the ETSU women’s soccer team went to the wire with the No. 3 seed Mercer in Birmingham, Ala., ending in a penalty shootout. The shootout went in favor of Mercer with the final tally ending 2-3.

The Bucs scored in the second half to tie the match, but after two scoreless overtime periods, the penalty spot was where the game was decided at Shauna Yelton Field.  

SCORING

• 27’ – Chandler Lewis-Jenkins scored to give Mercer the lead.
• 67’ – Andjela Kricak (Krusevac, Serbia) scored her first goal of the season to eventually force extra time.

MATCH SUMMARY

• Early on, the Bears tested goalkeeper Shu Ohba (Fujisawa, Japan), but the Player of the Year did not budge. Ohba saved a pair of attempts on frame within the first 15 minutes.
• In the 27th minute of the contest, Mercer scored on a freekick that was just ahead of the half field line taken by Lewis-Jenkins, the ball passed through to find the net.
• In the ensuing minutes Ohba answered the call with another pair of saves to keep the Bears lead at one.
• Withstanding the pressure, the Bucs found their first shot on target in the 43rd minute of the contest as Kyra Ranvek (Knoxville, Tenn.) forced a save by the Mercer goalkeeper Lindsay Bell.
• The Bucs faced 10 different shots in the opening period. Ohba stopped five of them and the defense blocked three of the shots.
• Holding strong defensively, the Bucs did not allow a single shot on target in the second half, facing six total shots.
• Showing great efficientcy, Kricak scored an absolute beauty of a goal from outside the 18-yard box as the goalkeeper could only watch the ball slam into the back of the net in the 67th minute.
• After the goal, the Bucs worked both on the defensive end and on the attacking end. To end the second half the Bucs recorded nine shots, with two of them being saved and three of them being blocked by the Mercer defense.
• In the 83rd minute, Sinoxolo Cesane (Capetown, South Africa) tried a shot from outside the 18-yard box which was saved by Bell to keep the game even.
• As the 90 minutes ended and the score was the tied at one apiece, the Bucs looked to keep their momentum heading into extra time.
• The Bears had the first clear opportunity in the 96th minute but Ohba stood her ground to record her sixth save of the night, blocking a shot by Aliah Kitchens.
• Three minutes later, the Bucs had their first chance of the first period of overtime as senior Momoko Horiuchi’s (Paris, Tenn.) shot was saved by Bell, who recorded her fourth save of the night.
• Trying to break the deadlock, ETSU earned a corner and Madi Hook (Fareham, England) won the header which was eventually saved on the line by Bell.
• Ohba came up big in the final minutes as she stopped the final two opportunites by the Bears in the second period of extra time.
• In the penalty shootout, the Bucs missed their first shot but were still in the game as Ohba stopped the penalty. The Bucs missed their third and final attempt to end the shootout with a score of 2-3.

QUICK KICKS

• ETSU ends the 2022 season with a 5-6-6 overall record.
• The Bucs’ season ends in penalty kicks for the first time since 2017 after ending 1-5 against UNC Greensboro in Macon, Ga.
• Ohba ended the game with six saves.
• With the win, Mercer will face No. 2 Samford in the conference semifinal.

For more information on Buccaneer women’s soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women’s soccer tab.