ETSU pulls a rabbit out of the hat and gets a game-winner from Alesi Osorio with 43 seconds left to beat #24 UNC-Greensboro in Greensboro in double OT.
Did you see the game Lefty? The official scorer didn't count many of our shots. Then, the write-up said they dominated the game. It was a very even match even with the very home cooked refereeing. They even quashed the video replay http://client.stretchinternet.com/client/uncg.portal# . All the other links including UNCG's win over Duke work, but not the link for our game.
I watched a lot of it. It was very close, lots of back-and-forth play for much of the second half, and UNCG started playing exceptionally rough with about 20 minutes left in regulation, from what I could tell. Home cooking on the scoring is going to happen from now till the end of time. Everyone is guilty of it, so I don't see that as a big deal. I do think it's quite funny, though, that UNCG is so (apparently) embarrassed by losing to ETSU. Bucs won again in Huntington tonight, 2-0 over Marshall. Geno (2) and Schoenfeld (2) with the goals. Reading the play-by-play, it sounds like Marshall really picked up the intensity around the half-hour mark and just couldn't solve Coulter. Regardless, it's great to be 3-0 going to Norfolk. I'm curious as to when the NSCAA will publish its next rankings. They were due out last Thursday and I haven't seen anything on them yet...
I saw Schoenfeld play in Maine this summer and he is a handful...shame Joe Mauceri failed to notice that the kid is quite obviously RIGHT footed and not LEFT footed when he discussed his pro aspirations on topdrawersoccer....No love for ETSU is the polls so far...why is this?
Well, we got bumped up to #3 in the South by the NSCAA in the polls that were issued today (and were due out today; I was looking at October on my calendar, not September, wondering why the polls were late coming out ), behind North Carolina and UCF, so I'd say that, at the very least, we're getting regional recognition. Furman, Clemson, and Davidson are all ranked as well, and they're on the home schedule, so we'll have a great opportunity to leapfrog UCF for the number two spot if we can hold this form. I can't see anybody slowing down Schoenfeld once conference play gets going. There are scarce few defenders in the A-Sun who can handle his hybrid of size and speed.
Old Dominion 4-0 ETSU Not really much to say about this one since I couldn't watch it (ODU uses CBS for its streaming service, which listed the game as "premium" content), but man, ODU plays two games and scores 10 goals. That team is good. Meanwhile, the Ladies have now won four in a row with a 2-1 win over Wright State. Jenna Caudle (4) scored again after not playing in the 10-0 blowout of Alabama A&M. They look much, MUCH better than the discombobulated mess that took the field against Tech at the end of August. The lack of speed still concerns me, but that's not really something Sayers can control, since he's working almost entirely with a Henson-recruited team.
Bucs blank The College, 2-0. Coulter with six more saves. Schroettle and Doumbe both get their first goals in the Blue and White.
I live in VA Bch area and attended games this weekend including against ODU. You are correct, game was much closer than score would indicate. Goal right before halftime gave ODU some momentum. ETSU had # of chances in 1st half though... just didn't find the net. Goal #2 for ODU. 2 v 1 defender and slid ball into one on one with GK. Tough break. Third goal was a great shot from about 12 in corner of box beating GK to far post. Tall striker (name ??) for ETSU had a nice header in 2nd half off corner that just missed... had GK beat Hard fought match for both clubs. Chippy play at time for both. Not sure # of yellows but probably 5-6 total. Again much closer than score. Missed most of 2-0 win over W&M, but nice win.
David Geno scored one of the flukiest goals I've ever seen to beat Davidson, 3-2. I had a feeling this would be a high-scoring game when both teams scored in the first 15 minutes, and I was right (sort of). The team played fine on the whole, especially in the second half, but both Davidson goals could easily be attributed to Ryan Coulter miscues. He came way too far out to play the ball and left his net wide open on the Rivera goal, and then had a harmless-looking shot along the ground roll by him and beat him to the back post. I think he knew it, too: he was talking to Calabrese for a while after the game. I don't think there's any debate that he'll start against Virginia Tech, though. Games like this happen every now and then and the team bailed him out, so shake it off and get back to being the goalie with four shutouts six games into the season. In related news, the women lost at Winthrop, 2-1 in the second overtime. Jenna Caudle scored again. Five goals in her last five appearances (she didn't play against Alabama A&M).
ETSU downed Virginia Tech last night, 1-0. Local boy Geno scored the goal on a beautiful run down the flank by Doumbe. The buildup was absolutely immaculate. I thought the Bucs played really well and definitely had the better of the attacking play. They eventually just wore the back line down with their speed. Tech always seemed to be right on top of the play, but they had to defend so much that it just wore them out and started to open things up in the last half-hour. ETSU had a couple of great chances after the breakthrough, including one that featured a goal-line deflection (about the only way Schoenfeld could miss from four yards out), but still a very satisfying win, and hopefully enough to keep us in the national polls this time. Now they've got a road game to South Carolina against a Winthrop team that has dropped four straight, and then back home for another big challenge against Furman.
Love all the updates Lefty. I live on the west coast but my brother is on the team, so I am constantly watching the streaming and following whatever I can online. Tonight's game got rained out if you didn't know.
No trouble. I love having the opportunity to go talk soccer somewhere. ETSU has its own athletics forum, but I don't think anybody watches those games on a regular basis, considering how often it's referred to as "communist kickball." (It's mostly a school politics thing, I think.) Oh, I know. I saw the picture of the field in Rock Hill. It was an absolute mess and I'm glad they didn't try to play in it. The only thing it would do is get guys hurt. Of course, ETSU lost Alesi Osorio in the Sunday game, a scoreless draw with Furman. I hate to speculate on it, but it looked like he broke his arm. When he hit the ground, he immediately went for his left arm and never let go of it. Even when he was in a sling, he was still clinging to that arm. That's a big loss for the team; Alesi is the kind of guy that's always moving his feet and trying to create with and without the ball. Three other guys played that spot - Haba, Zaccarelli, and Campbell - and none of them provided the same spark that Osorio can. As for the match itself, I thought it really boiled down to match-ups; Ndiaye kept Doumbe in check for most of the match, and MacKain and Zimmerman turned Geno and Schoenfeld into total nonfactors. Furman had the better opportunities to score, but they weren't very good in the air, which is about the only way you can beat ETSU if Coulter is on his game (which he was). Colten Henning played tough, but he just didn't have the size to give ETSU problems up the middle. Ontiveros' speed gave the fullbacks some difficulty, but again, Furman didn't have a target man for him. ETSU's best chance was a six yard free kick off a back pass that Theo Yang sent flying off a Paladin's boot out of danger. One thing I will say for that Furman team is that they were great sportsmen. Martín Ontiveros got hit in a very sensitive area in an early collision with Osorio, and when he finally got up, they both smiled and shook hands (I believe they played club together). Ndiaye helped Fubara work out a cramp on the field after he got fouled and (deservedly) got a big round of applause for it. They played physical, but they were classy about it. It's tough not to like a team that does stuff like that.
Osorio played tonight, and got the first of THREE red cards for ETSU in a 3-1 loss to Belmont. The Bruins got the go-ahead goal at 83:02 and scored again 49 seconds later to ensure the victory, shortly after which Doumbe and Geno were both tossed.
That most definitely will raise a few eyebrows. Having not seen the game myself (Belmont doesn't broadcast soccer, men's or women's), it's impossible for me to determine if the referee made the right call on all three reds. If the referee was bad, Calabrese needs to file a complaint with the conference, because this could potentially cost him more than just the one game. If the fouls were legit, coach has to reign his team in. But this was a team that had barely been booked at all in non-conference play, and they don't play a particularly rough or reckless brand of soccer, so I don't know why they would suddenly go on a rampage against Belmont. As for the suspension length, I don't know the NCAA rules. I would assume one match since that's the standard, but it could be two.
Another straight red yesterday for a hand ball on the goal line. Haven't had a chance to look over the footage to see if it was the right call, but the ref should have had a good angle on it and Woodruff didn't try to dispute the call in the slightest. Lipscomb won 2-1. It was the first time they've ever beaten ETSU in Johnson City. It's not the end of the world, because they have the Jacksonville schools next weekend, but they have to get six points. They absolutely have to.
Bucs come back with three points in Jacksonville, beating UNF 3-2 in overtime and losing 2-1 to Jacksonville after taking a 1-0 lead into the break. I really just don't know what's going on with this team right now. Calabrese has to shake things up and get their attention. Gulf Coast comes in in five days, and they'll probably cream us if we don't get it together. After that, pretty much every game is a must-win if they want to get into the tournament. The women, in the meantime, won both games this weekend, making it a program-record six straight wins, are 10-3 overall and 5-0 atop the conference table. [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wSExogKSOyc]The World Turned Upside Down[/ame]
Played to a scoreless draw with Stetson on Friday night. Stetson carried the run of play, but this game was ultimately about the goalies. Ryan Coulter played really well, and Andreas Schnabl got the Hatters the point in overtime. Schoenfeld broke down the wing in transition, had Geno wide-open at the penalty spot, crossed in, Geno took a touch to settle and shot, and Schnable just barely - and I mean just barely got a paw to it and steered it out of play. That might be the best save he makes all season. Not sure what the issue is, but the squad has been without Frank Doumbe for the bulk of the last four matches. He played a little in the UNF game, but hasn't played since. Whatever the cause, there's a huge hole in the lineup without his speed and skill on the wing. Calabrese has played four or five different guys on the wing (IIRC, he even tried Osorio out there), but it's just not the same. If they can get Doumbe back out there, though, they might have a shot at the tournament, which they're hosting regardless. In related news, the women are now 6-0 in conference and have won 7 games in a row after beating Stetson 6-3 in DeLand. Jenna Caudle got her first career hat trick. If they beat Gulf Coast today, there's a pretty good chance they could run the table...
Women lost 3-0. Could still win the conference regular season title, but Gulf Coast has to lose a game and ETSU has to win out. The men snapped a 12-game in-conference win streak for FGCU today with a 2-1 victory over the Eagles. They started out great, but couldn't solve Glick, then the play came down the other way and an absolutely perfect cross by Crespo found Portillo. Absolutely nothing anybody could have done about that once Crespo was on the ball. After that, Gulf Coast controlled the play until halftime, and then ETSU totally took control of possession in the second half and had Gulf Coast on their heels when Nick Dykes scored his first collegiate goal straight off a header. About six minutes later, Woodruff had a ball bounce right down to him and crossed it in for Geno, who did what Geno does. This was the ETSU I was used to seeing. Free-flowing, wide-open soccer. Just a treat to watch today. A few miscellaneous notes: - Doumbe was back today after missing two games-plus with an ankle injury. Looked very solid. - Nick Dykes played another really solid game. He was strong on the ball and played with a mean streak. I like this kid a lot. - Osorio didn't play, but also didn't have a cast on his arm that I saw. - Schoenfeld has now moved to right back, opposite Hodges. He looked okay there, very effective at using his size and speed to disrupt the play and turn it around, but he got caught pinching into the middle on the Gulf Coast goal and left Crespo in space on the flank. The enormity of this three points cannot be understated. The last two conference games on the schedule are against Upstate and Mercer, with Upstate tied with us and Mercer trailing by four points with two games in hand. It's pretty simple: win both games, we're in the tournament. Lose both games, we watch while six other teams use our field. It's all about those two games, though.
Where does ETSU stand now Lefty after the heartbreaking loss at Mercer. Would be unbelievable not to make the tourney.
Three spots in the A-Sun tourney are still available. ETSU, Mercer, Lipscomb and Belmont are in the running. Mercer still has to play Lipscomb and Belmont - both on the road. For ETSU to get in they have to beat Upstate and one of the following also has to occur: 1.) Mercer ties Belmont or 2.) Mercer beats Belmont and Lipscomb All other combination of results between Mercer and Lipscomb and Mercer and Belmont means ETSU is out. I'm assuming if two teams are tied in the standing then head-to-head result is the first tie breaker. ETSU lost to Mercer, Lipscomb and Belmont. If ETSU does get in they will be the #5 seed.
Not quite accurate. So long as one of the three teams stays under ten points (ETSU's maximum), ETSU gets in as at least the #6 seed. That is, of course, going to happen, because Mercer plays Lipscomb and Belmont, and there's no combination of results that sees all three teams get to ten points. Basically, ETSU just has to win and they're in. They played okay tonight against Clemson. Too much work in the air, not enough sustained possession on the ground, and Zaccarelli got roasted like Christmas ham on the play that led to Clemson's goal. I want to say I like their chances against Upstate because that team hasn't scored a goal in its last 188 minutes of A-Sun play, but the way this season has gone, that probably just means they'll pop in two or three... Also, the women got a share of the Atlantic Sun title with a win over Mercer on Sunday and FGCU's first-ever conference loss against, of all teams, Belmont (who has ETSU's previous head coach). They get a first-round bye in the tournament and a much-needed week off to heal all the bumps and bruises before going to Fort Myers. Really loving what Sayers has done with that program.