?JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 23, 2023) –?With high expectations and a feeling of unfinished business, the ETSU men's soccer team opens the 2023 season Thursday night against Georgia Southern at Summers-Taylor Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.  

THE MATCHUP  

ETSU (0-0-0) vs. Georgia Southern (0-0-0) 

Thursday, August 24 | 7 p.m. | Summers-Taylor Stadium | Live Stats 

• ETSU men's soccer matches are free admission 

ABOUT THE BUCS  

• David Lilly enters his second year as the head coach of the Bucs, having posted ETSU's first winning season since 2018 in his first year. Lilly was an assistant on staff for all three of ETSU's NCAA Tournament appearances in 2010, 2013, and 2016.
• The Bucs finished second in the SoCon regular season standings in 2022 and ended their season in the SoCon tournament semifinals with a 1-0 loss to Mercer.
• ETSU was picked second in the SoCon preseason poll, tied with Mercer with 18 points. The Bucs return 23 players from last year's second-place team; 16 players bring starting experience over from 2022, and 10 players who started 10 or more games last season.
• A SoCon-leading four Buccaneers were selected the SoCon's Preseason All-Conference team: senior forwards Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand) and Tarik Pannholzer (Flensburg, Germany), senior center back Dominic Foster (London, England), and graduate student goalkeeper Cole Hunter (Mount Juliet, Tenn.).
• Richards tied the ETSU single-season goals record with 11 in 2022. Richards and Pannholzer enter the season tied for fifth all-time at ETSU with 18 goals.
• Hunter begins the 2023 season as the career leader in goals against average for ETSU men's soccer (0.89). He ranks fifth all-time in save percentage (.735) and is tied for fourth all-time in shutouts (7).
• The Bucs' schedule features three teams ranked in the preseason United Soccer Coaches Top 25: #3 Kentucky (Aug. 28), #10 UNC-Greensboro (Oct. 6), and #15 Virginia (Sept. 26). 

ABOUT GEORGIA SOUTHERN 

• Georgia Southern went 1-14-1 in 2022, its fewest wins and most losses in a season since 2009.
• Lee Squires was hired as the Eagles' head coach in December 2022. Squires went 101-29-18 in eight seasons at Division II Lander with two Peach Belt Conference championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances.
• Georgia Southern was voted 10th of 10 teams in the Sun Belt preseason poll. The Eagles return four players who started 10 or more games last season.
• Senior midfielder Manuel Prieto is the top returning goal scorer for the Eagles, with three in 15 games coming primarily off the bench.

SERIES HISTORY 

This is the second-ever meeting between the Bucs and the Eagles and the first at Summers-Taylor Stadium. ETSU benefitted from a Georgia Southern own goal in the 83rd minute to take a 2-1 road win in Statesboro on September 22, 2018. 

UP NEXT  

The Bucs jump into the deep end with a trip to #3 Kentucky on Monday. Kickoff is slated for 7:30 p.m. in Lexington. 

For more information on Buccaneer men's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's soccer tab.