MACON, Ga. (Oct. 17, 2024) – The ETSU men's soccer team looks to extend its October unbeaten streak to four when the Buccaneers take on Mercer in a Saturday night showdown in Macon, Ga. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Betts Stadium.
 
Saturday night pins the reigning SoCon regular season champion against the reigning conference tournament champion in Macon. The Bucs defeated Mercer in the closing seconds last season in Johnson City to clinch the outright regular season crown; however, the Bears defeated ETSU in the SoCon semifinals in penalty kicks, 4-3.
 
GAMEDAY INFO
ETSU (4-5-3, 2-0-0) at Mercer (5-2-6, 1-0-1)
Saturday, Oct. 19 • 7 p.m. • Betts Stadium • ESPN+ • Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU sits at 4-5-3 overall and 2-0-0 in SoCon play
• The Bucs are 3-0-0 in October with wins over VMI, Wofford and Gardner-Webb
• ETSU has a plus-six goal differential during this win streak as the Bucs have outscored their opponents, 7-1
• Gabriel Ramos and Oliver Einarsson each have two goals during this win streak, while Ramos also has three assists
• Marc Kouadio has totaled 13 saves and registered two clean sheets since the calendar turned to October
• ETSU extended its win streak with a 3-1 victory over Gardner-Webb on Tuesday night where Einarsson recorded a brace for his first collegiate goals … Louie Salkeld assisted on all three scores, tying the ETSU single-game record … Ramos logged the Bucs' first goal of the night in the win over the Runnin' Bulldogs  
• With that win, ETSU is 3-0-2 at home this season
• Ramos notched his 15th career goal and 47th point on Tuesday night … The 15 goals moved Ramos past Danny Barlow (2017-18) for seventh all-time, while he also passed Cameron Woodfin (2014-18) for seventh in points
• With the six points in conference play, the reigning SoCon champions sit in first place in the conference standings
• The Bucs are led by first-year head coach Allen Vital … Vital comes to Johnson City with 27 years of head coaching experience as he spent 14 years at Carson-Newman and spent the last 13 seasons at his alma mater, Tusculum
• ETSU won the Southern Conference regular season title a year ago after finishing the 2023 campaign with an overall record of 9-5-3 and league mark of 4-0-1
• The Bucs return nine players who logged minutes on the pitch last season, including preseason all-SoCon selection Gabriel Ramos
• Ramos, a preseason all-SoCon selection, started all 17 matches last season where he tallied six goals, five assists and 17 points … Ramos led the team in goals and points and was tied for the team lead in assists

ABOUT MERCER    

• Mercer is 5-2-6 overall and 1-0-1 in SoCon play
• The Bears are unbeaten at home as they sit 3-0-1 at Betts Stadium
• Mercer is unbeaten in its last five games as the Bears are 2-0-3, which includes a scoreless draw at then-No. 3 North Carolina on Sept. 24
• The Bears were tabbed the preseason favorite by the SoCon coaches
• As a team, Mercer has scored 18 goals and given up 10
• Barzee Blama and Kadeem Agard have accounted for eight of those 18 goals with each netting four
• Agard was ranked the 38th best player in the Top Drawer Soccer Midseason Top 100 Player Rankings
• Trevor McMullen has started all 13 matches and posted eight shutouts and made 42 saves

SERIES HISTORY

• Saturday marks the 25th all-time meeting between ETSU and Mercer
• The series is knotted at 9-9-6
• The teams met twice a year ago with ETSU clinching the regular season title with a 2-1 victory on Oct. 28 in Johnson City; however, Mercer advanced in the SoCon semifinals one week later in penalty kicks, 4-3
• ETSU is 5-1-4 in the last 10 meetings
• The Bucs are 5-5 all-time in Macon with their last win on the road coming on March 16, 2021 when ETSU won, 2-1

WHAT'S NEXT
ETSU returns home to host Furman next Saturday, Oct. 26 at 6 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.