JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 28, 2023) – Call it Yelton Bowl. Call it the Piney Flats Derby. Whatever title is given to ETSU and Samford, a game with a title shot on the line and Jay Yelton and Todd Yelton on opposite ends of the sideline seems destined to produce a spectacle. 
 
The ETSU women's soccer team hosts Samford in the 2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship semifinal on Sunday at Summers-Taylor Stadium, meeting the Bulldogs in the tournament for the first time since 2018. Kickoff is set for 2 p.m. 
 
THE MATCHUP  
#2 ETSU (11-2-5) vs. #3 Samford (11-3-5) 
Sunday, October 29 | 2 p.m. | Summers-Taylor Stadium | ESPN+ | Live Stats 
  
ABOUT THE BUCS  
·       ETSU won its 11th game on Friday with a 1-0 victory over Mercer in the quarterfinals. Sinoxolo Cesane scored for the second time in as many games in the seventh minute, and Ashton Blair set the single-season shutout record with her eighth of 2023 to put the Bucs in the SoCon Women's Soccer Championship semifinals for the first time since 2018. 
·       An 11-win season for ETSU ties for the sixth-most wins in a season in program history, matching the output of the 2007 Buccaneers team that went 11-6-3. A subsequent win would tie the 2023 Bucs with the 2003, 2011, and 2012 ETSU teams for third-most in ETSU history. 
·       Sophomore Grace Eatz assisted on Cesane's goal, continuing her strong run of production. Eatz has six points (two goals, two assists) in the last five games for ETSU, surpassing her offensive output from all of her freshman season since October 8. Her six career goals trail only Cesane for the career active lead on ETSU's roster. 
·       In addition to the single-season shutout record, Blair's clean sheet was the 11th of her career, breaking a tie for Shu Ohba for third-most in ETSU history. Blair needs one more shutout to tie Lea Ann Cutshall for second and two more to tie Jasmine Elliott's career record of 13. 
 
ABOUT SAMFORD 
·       The Bulldogs rallied from a 2-0 deficit after 40 minutes to defeat Chattanooga in overtime 3-2. Mary Raymond turned a Kylie Gazza header into the heart of the net in the 107th minute to lift the Bulldogs into the SoCon Women's Soccer Championship semifinals for the 11th consecutive season. 
·       Raymond's 18th career goal was her fifth in conference tournament play and first since the brace against Furman in the fall 2021 championship game that earned her SoCon Tournament MVP honors. 
·       Samford is second only to ETSU in the SoCon in team goals against average (0.611). Zoe Clevely is second among SoCon 'keepers in goals against average and fourth in save percentage, standing 37th in the country in the former category. 
·       Samford's back line boasts remarkable experience, with center backs Kyle Gazza and Ella Simpson and left back Lindsay Origiliasso starting 76 consecutive games as a unit entering Sunday's semifinal, while right back Alyssa Conarton has started 57 of the last 63 games. Gazza has started 87 consecutive games, a program record. 
 
SERIES HISTORY 
·       This is the 13th all-time meeting between Samford and ETSU and the third in the conference tournament. Samford leads the series 10-1-2 and has won both tournament meetings, including the 2018 championship final. 
·       The teams played to a 1-1 draw on October 15 at Shauna Yelton Field in Birmingham. After conceding an own goal, the Bucs rallied for the draw behind an Ava Matherne volley in the 59th minute for their second consecutive draw with the Bulldogs. 
·       The Bucs' only win in the series came in their first meeting as conference foes on October 3, 2014. Sarah Zadrazil scored twice, and Emilee Engelhaupt added another all in the span of 8:36 out of halftime, to win 3-1 at Samford. 
 
UP NEXT  
The winner of Sunday's match advances to the 2023 SoCon Women's Soccer Championship final on November 4 or 5 at a site to be determined, facing the winner of the other semifinal between Western Carolina and Furman. 
 
For more information on ETSU women's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's soccer tab.