Saturday, November 13, 2010

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – ETSU’s Itode Fubara scored in the 95th minute lifting the Buccaneers to their first Atlantic Sun Men’s Soccer Championship title, besting Stetson, 1-0, in front of 1,162 raucous fans at Summers-Taylor Stadium.

Fubara, the conference’s Freshman of the Year, picked up the Tournament MVP honor for his heroics. He becomes the first player in the league to win both awards in a single season. His goal, his fourth of 2010, came following a hand ball just outside the box. The Buccaneer’s Colin Pugh hit a free kick into a cluster of attackers and defenders, but Fubara volleyed home the winner and sent the Bucs to the NCAA College Cup for the first time in the program’s three-year history.

The eighth overtime final in conference history almost ended in the waning seconds of regulation. Stetson (10-6-2) nearly pulled out a miracle win when Jonathan Mendoza hit the crossbar from beyond 45 yards with two seconds left in regulation. Once overtime commenced, the Bucs found themselves in familiar territory. They improved to 7-1-0 in overtime.

The ETSU (15-5-0) win followed an overtime semifinal victory against Lipscomb on Thursday. They become the first A-Sun school to win the title by virtue of overtime wins in both the semifinals and finals. The Bucs won in front of a partisan home faithful, becoming the first A-Sun school to win at home since Mercer topped Jacksonville, 2-1, in 2001. Both semifinal matches and the title game ended in 1-0 decisions, a first in A-Sun play since 2000.

Fubara led six Buccaneers on the All-Tournament squad. Ronnie Hreha, Guilherme Reis, David Geno, Theo Yang and Aaron Schoenfeld all made the 11-man team. Mendoza, Ryan Corning and Andreas Schnabl represented the Hatters. Lipscomb’s Brent McGee and Miguel DaSilva rounded the team.

The Buccaneers will learn their NCAA fate on Monday’s selection show. It airs at 4:30 on ESPNU.

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The Atlantic Sun Conference is an 11-member league committed to Building Winners for Life. The A-Sun stands for achievement with integrity in both the academic and athletic arenas, with a focus on the balance between the two for our student-athletes. Headquartered in Macon, Ga., the A-Sun boasts five of the top eight media markets in the Southeast. The A-Sun includes a blend of the most prestigious and dynamic private and public institutions in the region: Belmont University, Campbell University, East Tennessee State University, Florida Gulf Coast University, Jacksonville University, Kennesaw State University, Lipscomb University, Mercer University, University of North Florida, University of South Carolina Upstate and Stetson University.