WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (Oct. 1, 2024) – Playing its final contest on a four-game road swing, ETSU goalkeeper
Marc Kouadio registered a school-record 14 saves; however, the Buccaneers suffered a 2-0 setback at Wake Forest on Tuesday night at Spry Stadium.
Kouadio, who tied the most saves by a Division I keeper this season, bested his career high by four saves in Winston-Salem. Kouadio's previous high was 10 when he played at Dayton against Duquesne on March 17, 2021. The Buccaneer keeper stopped seven shots in the first half, where the teams played a scoreless 45 minutes, while Kouadio stopped eight more shots in the second half. Kouadio broke Jonny Sutherland's prior school record of 10 saves, which was set on Oct. 6, 2017 against Furman.
Wake Forest entered the night leading the country in shots per game (20.1) and the Demon Deacons totaled 28 over the 90-minute contest. The Demon Deacons put up 14 shots in both halves, while limiting ETSU five for the match. The Blue & Gold had one shot on target in each half on Tuesday night.
After Kouadio did his best to keep the Buccaneers in the contest, Wake Forest finally broke through in the 61st minute when Colin Thomas sent one to the top center of the goal, giving the Demon Deacons the 1-0 lead. Four minutes later, Cooper Flax was in the right spot at the right time as he fired a rebound off a save from Kouadio to the bottom center of the frame to extend the lead to 2-0.
Louie Salkeld led the Bucs with two shots on the night, while
Gabriel Ramos and
Abdi Bahur accounted for ETSU's shots on goal. Ramos' shot came in the 20th minute when Trace Alphin saved one near the bottom right of the goal, while Bahur's shot came in the 63rd minute.
With the setback, ETSU fell to 1-5-3, while Wake Forest – who was ranked No. 15 entering the season – improved to 4-3-3.
The Bucs now gear up for conference play as ETSU hosts VMI on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
For more information on Buccaneer men's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's soccer tab.
