Bucs' top goal scorer from 2022 opens her account in first real action of 2023 

?JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 11, 2023) – After missing the first four games with injury and getting only a few minutes against Tennessee Tech, senior Emma Arnold (Bristol, Tenn.) returned to the field in earnest and steered a header into the back post in the 73rd minute to lift ETSU to a 1-0 win over Winthrop on Monday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium.  

The Buccaneers (3-1-2) were on the front foot all night, but the chances didn't start to mount until later in the first half. Natalie Capanelli (Ontario, Canada) broke in one-on-one with Eagles (3-2-1) goalkeeper Izzy Giarizzi in 25th minute but was turned away. Grace Eatz (Roswell, Ga.) had a shot blocked, then a second chance that couldn't get past Giarizzi in the 30th minute. She had a header in the 45th minute on frame off a corner, but Giarizzi was alert to the threat. 

Ashton Blair (Knoxville, Tenn.) was challenged by Annabel Thomas in the 32nd minute with a low, hard shot, but Blair made her first save of the batch. Thomas had another chance that sailed wide in the 40th minute, but the teams went to halftime without a goal to separate them. 

A second wave of attacks was spearheaded by Reagan Fitzgerald (Oviedo, Fla.) who fizzed a shot over the bar off a promising cross from Ella Parker (Jefferson, Ga.) on the left wing in the 52nd minute, and had a half-chance end up on goal after good service from Ava Matherne (Gulf Breeze, Fla.) down the right wing in the 54th minute.  

Another wave began past the hour mark as the Bucs peppered the Eagles with shots and broke through. 

Winger Ruby Teixeira (Nashville, Tenn.) steered a cross from Arnold on frame 68th minute but right into the chest of Giarizzi. Sinoxolo Cesane (Cape Town, South Africa) fired high from 20 yards out in the 69th minute. Teixeira took another crack at goal from just inside the box down the left wing but missed wide in the 71st minute. 

Arnold got her chance in the 73rd minute off a Teixeira corner. Madi Hook (Fareham, England) flicked Teixeira's initial service with a header from the left side toward the top of the six-yard box. Arnold had a mismatch and turned a header of her own inside the right post for her first goal of the year and fifth of her career. 

The Bucs' press kept the Eagles hemmed in most of the night, resulting in a 24-4 final shot count in ETSU's favor and a 10-4 margin for the Bucs in shots on goal. In the second half, the Bucs outshot Winthrop, 16-0. Individually, Matherne and Teixeira led the Bucs with four shots each, and Eatz, Hook, and Teixeira had two shots on goal each. Blair recorded her fourth shutout of the year and seventh of her career. 

ETSU returns to action Thursday night against USC Upstate, when the Bucs will honor their graduating class. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. 

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