SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Oct. 10, 2024) – It's been feast or famine for the ETSU women's soccer team this conference season.
On Thursday night, the Buccaneers feasted and did so in a big way.
ETSU unleashed its frustration on Wofford, as the Blue & Gold silenced the Terriers with a 3-0 victory at Snyder Field in Spartanburg, S.C.
After netting six goals in its Southern Conference opener last month against The Citadel, the Bucs were held to one goal over the next three matches. Tonight, ETSU picked up first half goals from
Reagan Fitzgerald and
Jada Cooper, while
Annabelle Ekern got in on the fun early in the second half en route to the Bucs collecting its third shutout of the campaign.
On a night where Cooper and Ekern registered their first collegiate goals, redshirt junior goalkeeper
Ashton Blair made history by notching her 14th career clean sheet – breaking Jasmine Elliott's mark of 13, set from 2013-16.
The Bucs dominated from the opening whistle as ETSU posted three shots in the first 10 minutes. Despite being unable to find the back of the net on those attempts, the Bucs continued with the pressure and finally cracked the Terrier defense.
In the 34th minute,
Sadie Commerford was able to gain possession where she split two Wofford defenders and found Ekern near the right edge of the 18-yard box. Ekern delivered a perfect strike to a cutting Fitzgerald who headed one home in the center of the net for her second goal of the year and Ekern's first collegiate assist.
ETSU wasted little time adding to its lead.
Three minutes later,
Lindsey Cook – who scored her first collegiate goal on the Bucs' last trip to Wofford in 2021 – sent a corner to the center of the box where
Ellie Cornell headed one towards the upper portion of the goal. With Wofford's Elizabeth Navola forced to make the leaping save, Cooper was there for the rebound and the Chattanooga native netted her first goal as a Buccaneer, giving ETSU the 2-0 advantage.
Following intermission, the Bucs added some insurance as Ekern made it 3-0 in the 50th minute.
Natalie Capannelli gained possession deep in ETSU's defensive zone and she found Fitzgerald near midfield. From there, Fitzgerald sent one through where Ekern beat the Wofford defense and fired the ball to the left post past the Terrier keeper.
ETSU continued to push in the later stages of the match as the Bucs finished the night with 19 total shots (11 on net). Wofford was held to seven shots and only tested Blair twice. The Blue & Gold were also plus-eight in corners, 9-1, while the teams combined for only nine fouls in the 90 minutes of action.
With the win, the Bucs snapped a two-game skid and improved to 3-6-2 overall and 2-2-1 in league play. Wofford moved to 5-8-1 overall and 1-4-0 in SoCon play. The all-time series is now 10-10-1, while ETSU has won the last two and three of the last four over the Terriers.
ETSU returns home to host Furman on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
For more information on Buccaneer women's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's soccer tab.
