Thursday, June 04, 2009

Trips to Blacksburg and Chapel Hill on deck for the Buccaneers

 

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (June 4, 2009) - Coming off its inaugural season in 2008, head ETSU men's soccer coach Scott Calabrese released its 2009 schedule on Thursday morning.

 

The Bucs, who have eight regular season home dates in 2009, will hit the road nine times this year - including trips to ACC country in Virginia Tech and North Carolina. ETSU takes on the Hokies, who appeared in the Final Four in 2007, inside Thompson Field on September 13. Then, nine days later on the 22nd, the Bucs face the Tar Heels (2008 NCAA Runner-up) at Fetzer Field.

 

"We are very excited to be playing North Carolina and Virginia Tech," added Calabrese. "Each season we want to continue improving our schedule. Next year we hope to add another ACC opponent and play North Carolina and Virginia Tech in Summers-Taylor Stadium. It's always good to play the best so we can measure our success against the highest level of competition."

 

After playing three exhibition games in late August, ETSU kicks off the regular season campaign at home when SoCon foe Wofford enters Summers-Taylor Stadium on Sept. 1 at 5 p.m. The Bucs, who defeated the Terriers for their first-ever win last season, close out the brief homestand against another foe who ETSU defeated in 2008 - VMI. Calabrese and the crew take on the Keydets on Sept. 4.

 

ETSU hits the road for the first time in 2009 when the Bucs head up I-81 to play at Radford (Sept. 11) and Virginia Tech.

 

Following the road trip, the Bucs come back home and face Elon (Sept. 19); however, the home stint doesn't last long, as ETSU departs Johnson City for the remainder of the month. The road swing keeps the Bucs inside the Tar Heel state the entire time, and game one of the three-game set won't be an easy one, as ETSU travels to 2008 National Runner-up North Carolina. The Bucs then travel to High Point on Sept. 26 and close out the month and non-conference action at UNC-Asheville on Sept. 29.

 

The beginning of October kicks off conference play and ETSU looks to remain perfect against USC Upstate on Oct. 3. The Bucs defeated the Spartans 2-1 in overtime for their first-ever Atlantic Sun victory in 2008. ETSU also hosts Florida Gulf Coast (Oct. 16) and Stetson (Oct. 18), while the Bucs close out their regular season with Lipscomb (Oct. 30) and Belmont (Nov. 1) at Summers-Taylor Stadium.

 

Meanwhile, ETSU makes A-Sun road trips to Mercer (Oct. 8), conference regular season champion Campbell (Oct. 10), North Florida (Oct. 23) and A-Sun Tournament Champion Jacksonville (Oct. 25).

 

"The conference schedule is the main focus of our season," Calabrese said. "Our goal is to qualify for the conference tournament, because that is our ticket to the NCAA Tournament."

 

The conference tournament will begin November 7 when the top-six eligible teams collide for a berth to the NCAA Men's College Cup.

 

For more information on Buccaneer soccer, visit www.ETSUBucs.com.