BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Oct. 31, 2024) – The ETSU women's soccer team opens postseason play Friday night when the sixth-seeded Buccaneers take on third-seeded Furman in Birmingham, Ala. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET at Samford's Shauna Yelton Field.
 
GAMEDAY INFO
#6 ETSU (4-7-4) vs. #3 Furman (9-6-3)
Friday, Nov. 1 • 8 p.m. ET • Shauna Yelton Field • ESPN+ • Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE BUCS

• ETSU finished regular season play with an overall record of 4-7-4 and a 3-3-3 mark in SoCon play
• The Bucs were unbeaten in their last three matches with draws against Western Carolina and Samford and picking up a 3-1 win in the regular season finale at VMI last Sunday
• In the VMI match, Natalie Capannelli, Jada Cooper and Ruby Teixeira all scored goals for the Blue & Gold
• Earlier on Thursday, Madi Hook and Ashton Blair earned second team All-SoCon honors, while Jada Cooper landed a spot on the all-freshman team
• Grace Eatz leads the Bucs with four goals and one assist, while Teixeira netted three goals with one assist in the regular season
• As a team, ETSU logged 18 goals and allowed 16 in the 15 regular season matches
• With her four shutouts this season, Ashton Blair – who played every minute in goal this season – holds the all-time program record with 15 clean sheets … Blair broke Jasmine Elliott's mark of 13, set from 2013-16
• ETSU's six non-conference opponents they completed matches with are a combined 58-25-18 … Duke, who is 13-1-1 on the season, is ranked No. 1 in the country
• Last season, ETSU defeated Mercer 1-0 in the SoCon quarterfinal, marking the Bucs' first postseason win since 2018
• The Bucs were picked third in the SoCon Preseason Coaches Poll, while Blair and Sydney Somogyi both landed a spot on the preseason all-conference team

ABOUT FURMAN     

• Furman went 9-6-3 overall and 5-2-2 in SoCon play in the regular season
• The Paladins are coming off a 4-2 win at The Citadel on Sunday
• During the regular season, Furman netted 30 goals and surrendered 25
• Tara Katz leads the team with six goals, while Jenny Jacobson and Nieva Gaither both have notched four goals for the Paladins
• Overall, 13 different players scored at least one goal for Furman
• Reese DeJong has played in 17 matches with 12 starts in goal for Furman … DeJong made 54 saves with three shutouts in the regular season

SERIES VS. FURMAN

• ETSU and Furman have met 20 times in series history, but only two of the stints came in postseason play
• The Paladins won 3-0 in 2002 in Greensboro, N.C. and 2-1 in 2017 in Greenville, S.C.
• Overall, Furman leads the all-time series, 17-2-1, including a 1-0 win over the Bucs back on Oct. 13 in Johnson City
• ETSU's last win over the Paladins came on Sept. 21, 2018 when the Bucs came away with a 1-0 victory
• Last season, the teams played to a scoreless draw in Greenville, marking ETSU's first point against Furman since that 2018 win

WHAT'S NEXT
The winner of the ETSU-Furman match takes on the winner of Samford-UNCG in Sunday's semifinal match at 2 p.m. ET in Birmingham.
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's soccer tab.