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East Tennessee State University

2023 MSOC vs Mercer win
1
Mercer MER (5-6-7, 1-3-2)
2
Winner ETSU ETSU (9-5-2, 4-0-1)
Mercer MER
(5-6-7, 1-3-2)
1
Final
2
ETSU ETSU
(9-5-2, 4-0-1)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Mercer MER 0 1 1
ETSU ETSU 1 1 2

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

McKenna scores in final seconds; Bucs win SoCon regular season title

Veteran center back redirects corner into net to give ETSU 2-1 win over Mercer, first SoCon title since 2017 
 
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct 28, 2023) – When Sergio Aguero scored to deliver a title to Manchester City in the final seconds in 2012, Martin Tyler famously said, "I swear, you'll never see anything like this ever again!" 
  
The crowd at Summers-Taylor Stadium on Saturday night saw something pretty close. 
  
Chris McKenna redirected a Tarik Pannholzer corner into the Mercer net with three seconds remaining to lift ETSU to a 2-1 win and their first SoCon regular season title since 2017. 
   
"I don't know if I'm going to be able to describe it because I don't know what I'm feeling right now," said head coach David Lilly. "The guys have been working hard and responding so well to every bit of adversity all season and we just kept telling them, keep believing. There will be dark moments in all of this. You just have to keep refusing to lose and keep trying to get over the finish line." 
  
The title-winning goal for the Buccaneers (9-5-2, 4-0-1) was the crowning moment of a highlight-filled night that started in the 15th minute, when Yves Tcheuyap found Gabriel Ramos down the right wing. Ramos floated an early cross to the near post and Kieran Richards sized it up for a spectacular diving header inside the left upright for his fourth goal of the year and 22nd of his career, moving him to fourth-most outright in ETSU history. 
  
"All credit to [Ramos]," said Richards. "A great ball, he has been putting them on all season. In training, my headers have not been coming off, but I've been saving them for that." 
  
As the match progressed, the field began to tilt toward the Bears (5-6-7, 1-2-2), and they broke through just before the hour mark. 
  
Omar Hernandez played a corner short to Rayvon McGann, who crossed the ball into the box for a powerful header from center back Sekou Agard that found the back right corner of the net to pull Mercer level. 
  
As word filtered through the stadium of other games in progress that would impact ETSU's final standing, the Bucs began to turn the field back there way, and Pannholzer had an opportunity in the final seconds swept away by Agard inside the box. With the countdown of the final 10 seconds ongoing, Pannholzer saw McKenna running toward the box and bade him farther forward. He whipped an outswinger into the box over the head of a leaping defender. It found McKenna's outstretched leg for the redirection into the net that set off euphoria on the ETSU sideline. 
  
McKenna's goal was his fourth in ETSU colors and the seventh of his college soccer career.  
  
"It took the full team," said McKenna. "We kept on going, we refused to lose, we've been doing that all season in the conference, and I think it was just meant to be.
  
"There was a little bit of luck involved. We had a few corners at the end, and it was just about judging the flight of the ball, and if anything dropped, I had to stay on my toes, so I moved my feet, tried to get something on it, got something on it, and thankfully it went into the back of the net." 
  
ETSU's outright SoCon regular season title is the first of its kind since 2017 – the last time ETSU finished SoCon play without a loss. The regular season title is the third won by ETSU men's soccer in its history. The ninth victory of 2023 also marks the most in a season since 2018 and ties Lilly for the most wins in the first two seasons by an ETSU head coach (17). It is ETSU's first win over Mercer since March 16, 2021. 
  
The Bears outshot the Buccaneers 13-12, but the Bucs won shots on goal 7-6. Cole Hunter made five saves to collect his 16th career goalkeeper win – fourth-most ever at ETSU. Ramos' assist on Richards' goal moves him into a tie with Aaron Schoenfeld for the eighth-most assists in ETSU history (10) and breaks a tie with Danny Barlow for eighth on the all-time points list (32). Richards' goal is the 22nd of his career, moving him past Joao Ramalho for fourth on the all-time list, and he is third behind Pannholzer and David Geno on the all-time points list. Pannholzer's assist was the 12th of his career, tying him with Blaike Woodruff for fourth in the ETSU record books. 
  
The Bucs are the top seed for the 2023 SoCon Men's Soccer Championship and will host a quarterfinal on November 3 pitting Mercer against UNCG. ETSU will play the winner on November 3 at either 3 p.m. or 5 p.m. 
  
For more information on ETSU men's soccer, go to ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's soccer tab. 
 
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