Tuesday, September 06, 2011

ETSU lands at No. 19 in Soccer America’s top 25

WILTON, Conn. (September 6, 2011) – Starting off the season with a record of 3-0-0, the ETSU men’s soccer team has soared into the national spotlight and is now ranked No. 19 in the Soccer America top 25 poll, as released on Tuesday. The Bucs are also ranked No. 25 by Goal.com and are receiving votes in the NSCAA/Continental Tires top 25.

“This team has worked very hard through the preseason and the first few weeks of the regular season to achieve some results on the road against very difficult teams,” said head coach Scott Calabrese. “It is nice to be recognized for our hard work, but we must continue to remain focused on the task at hand. We have some very difficult games ahead of us, including a couple this weekend, and we will continue to work hard and improve if we want to remain successful.”

Defeating a top-25 team for the first time in program history, beating then-No. 24 (NSCAA) UNC Greensboro on Wednesday, the Bucs now find themselves amongst the upper echelon of the college soccer world. Last year, ETSU first emerged into the national scene by winning the A-Sun Tournament to make their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Bucs faced the College of Charleston in the first round and went down, 3-0, at the half, but scored two goals in the second half before Theo Yang (Lilburn, Ga.) nearly equalized the contest but had his shot clang off the right post in the 87th minute.

ETSU will have its ranking quickly tested, as they will travel to Norfolk, Va. on Friday, September 9, to compete in the Stihl Soccer Classic against No. 22 Old Dominion inside the ODU Soccer Complex at 7 p.m.

For more information on ETSU men’s soccer, please visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men’s soccer links.