Monday, September 05, 2011

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Winning two road matches through the week, the ETSU men’s soccer team is now ranked No. 3 in the NSCAA/Continental Tires South Region poll. The No. 3 spot is the highest ranking the Bucs have earned in program history – their previous high being No. 6 – as ETSU jumped four positions from No. 7 in last week’s poll.

Head coach Scott Calabrese’s crew began the week on Wednesday in Greensboro, N.C. against nationally ranked No. 24 UNC Greensboro. The Bucs and Spartans played over 109 minutes of scoreless soccer before junior Alesi Osorio (Austin, Texas) sent in the game-winning goal with 43 seconds remaining in the second overtime period. The victory marked the first time the ETSU men’s soccer team had defeated a top-25 opponent in program history.

On Sunday, the Bucs played a less dramatic match, defeating Marshall, in what Calabrese called the team’s “best performance to date,” by a score of 2-0. Battling through the rain and wind in Huntington, W. Va., the Bucs shutout their third-consecutive opponent with the help of redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Ryan Coulter (Dublin, Ireland). Coulter made nine saves on Sunday night, as sophomore David Geno (Kingsport, Tenn.) scored to put ETSU on top just 20 minutes in before senior Aaron Schoenfeld (Knoxville, Tenn.) added to the lead in the 81st minute.

For the week ETSU played over 199 minutes of shutout soccer, outscoring its opponents by a combined 3-0.

NSCAA/Continental Tires South Region Poll
1. North Carolina
2. UCF
3. ETSU
4. UNC Greensboro
5. Furman
6. NC State
7. Charleston
8. Davidson
9. Duke
10. Clemson
Receiving Votes: FGCU

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