BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Aug. 14, 2024) – Coming off a successful campaign a year ago, the ETSU women's soccer team his its eyes set for more in 2024 as the Buccaneers open the season Thursday night at UAB.
GAMEDAY INFO
ETSU (0-0) vs. UAB (0-0)
Thursday, Aug. 15 • 8 p.m. ET • PNC Field •
ESPN+ •
Live Stats
ABOUT THE BUCS
- ETSU, who played at Appalachian State and Virginia Tech in exhibition matches, is coming off a 2023 season where the Bucs finished 11-3-5 overall and 6-1-2 in Southern Conference play
- The Bucs finished second in the SoCon last season and reached the semifinals of the conference tournament
- ETSU returns nine starters from last year's team, including preseason all-conference selections Ashton Blair and Sydney Somogyi
- Blair was named SoCon Defensive Player of the Year in 2023 and earned first-team all-conference honors as a goalkeeper. The Knoxville native played in 18 games last season where she registered eight shutouts and allowed just 10 goals. Blair ranked 28th nationally in goals against average (0.62) and 38th in save percentage (0.836)
- Somogyi started all 19 games last season for the Blue and Gold and landed first-team all-SoCon honors as a defender. The Buccaneer captain helped anchor an ETSU defense that set a school record shutout streak that spanned 640 minutes from Aug. 31-Oct. 1
- In addition to Blair and Somogyi, the Bucs are returning reigning SoCon Freshman of the Year and second team all-SoCon pick Reagan Fitzgerald, along with all-freshman team selections Ava Matherne and Ruby Teixeira. The Buccaneer trio accounted for eight goals and eight assists in their first season with the Blue & Gold
- ETSU's 11 wins last year were the most by a Buccaneer team since 2016 and the sixth-most in program history
- The Bucs were picked to finish third in the Preseason SoCon Coaches Poll
ABOUT UAB
- UAB went 6-7-5 overall and 2-3-4 in the American Athletic Conference last season
- The Blazers were 4-3-2 at home
- Like the Bucs, UAB played two exhibition matches as they played at Jacksonville State and hosted North Alabama
- Three players were named to the American Athletic Conference preseason Watch List as midfielders Abbey Burns and Kendall Page, along with goalkeeper Anika Toth earned the recognition
SERIES HISTORY
- Thursday marks the first-ever meeting between the two schools
WHAT'S NEXT
ETSU gears up for its home opener on Sunday when the Bucs host Eastern Kentucky. Game time is set for 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.
