JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 19, 2023) – UNC Asheville men's' soccer defeated ETSU 2-0 on Tuesday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium. Vidar Ragnarsson won a header in the air to beat goalkeeper Marc Kouadio (Montreal, Canada) on a set piece and an own goal added insult to injury in the final seconds.
After some steady early possession for the Buccaneers (3-4-1), the Bulldogs (5-2-1) found their footing and hit the accelerator.
Kouadio was called upon to stop Conor Behan in the 15th and again in the 24th minute. He turned aside an effort from Brendan Herb from distance in the 33rd minute as the Bulldogs continued their attack.
A back pass by UNC Asheville resulted in a free kick from 10 yards in the 40th minute, but Gabriel Ramos (Sao Paulo, Brazil) couldn't penetrate the mass of defenders inside the six-yard box.
Seth Hammond was stopped by Kouadio just shy of the hour mark, and the Bucs began to build a counter punch that shorted out when an apparent goal by Henrik Guenther (Guetersloh, Germany) was called back in the 62nd minute for offside.
Kouadio made a scrambling save in the 76th minute in the aftermath of a corner, but a subsequent Brendan Herb corner floated off Ragnarsson's head to the dead center of the net and sent him streaking to the touch line in celebration.
Tarik Pannholzer (Flensburg, Germany) missed with a lunging effort off an enticing cross from Louie Salkeld (Newcastle, England) in the 77th minute. A shot by Kieran Richards (Hamilton, New Zealand) at exactly 80 minutes was punched away by a diving Charlie Farrar with inches to spare inside the left post, representing ETSU's last good chance.
The Bulldogs added a second in the final seconds when a ball misplayed by Kouadio out high snuck across the line despite a diving effort to keep it out.
The Bulldogs outshot the Buccaneers 13-8, with six shots on goal to three for ETSU. The Bucs were called offside a season-high nine times. Individually, Richards led ETSU with three shots, and Pannholzer had two shots on goal. Kouadio made five saves on seven opportunities.
The Bucs have a week to get their bearings before traveling to Charlottesville to face Virginia.
For more information on ETSU men's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's soccer tab.
