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East Tennessee State University

Abdi Bahur vs Longwood 2024

Men's Soccer

ETSU men’s soccer travels to Spartanburg for road opener on Sunday

Bucs eye second straight win at USC Upstate

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (Aug. 24, 2024) – After opening the Coach Vital era with a home win on Thursday night, the ETSU men's soccer team eyes a second straight victory as the Buccaneers head to Spartanburg to take on USC Upstate on Sunday night. The game is slated to begin at 6 p.m. at County University Soccer Stadium.
 
GAMEDAY INFO
ETSU (1-0) at USC Upstate (0-1)
Sunday, Aug. 25 • 6 p.m.  • County University Stadium • ESPN+ • Live Stats
 
ABOUT THE BUCS
  • ETSU opened the 2024 campaign with a 3-1 win over Longwood on Thursday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium
  • The Bucs scored three unanswered goals to rally for the two-goal win … Ingvar Kolbjornsen (36'), Zayd Idlibi (57') and Henrique Cruz (77') registered the Buccaneer goals
  • Newcomer Abdi Bahur set a new ETSU single-game record by registering assists on all three Buccaneer goals
  • Gabriel Ramos tallied two assists en route to moving into a tie for third all-time with 13 career assists … Ramos is now tied with Itode Fubara (2010-13) and needs seven more assists to tie the school record, held by Cameron Woodfin (2014-18) and David Geno (2010-13)
  • Ramos' 35 career points rank eighth all-time among Buccaneer leaders … Ramos needs 11 more points to move into a tie for seventh with Woodfin
  • With Thursday's win, Coach Vital became the third Buccaneer head coach to win his ETSU debut – joining David Lilly (2022 vs. Longwood) and Bo Oshoniyi (2007 vs. William & Mary)
  • Vital, in his 28th season as a head coach, has totaled 257 career wins … Vital coached 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
  • Vital and his staff brought in 16 newcomers for the 2024 roster … Of the 16, 11 are freshman and five are transfers
ABOUT USC UPSTATE
  • The Spartans opened the season Thursday night with a 3-0 setback at UNC Greensboro
  • USC Upstate returns 25 players from last season's squad, including top scorers Adrian Panaite, Dzenan Cerimagic and Ezra Hoffman … The Spartan trio combined for eight goals four assists in 2023
  • Junior defender Elijah Jackson earned Preseason All-Big South honors
  • USC Upstate went 5-10-2 overall and 2-4-1 in Big South play last season
  • The Spartans won four of their six home games in 2023 
SERIES HISTORY
  • Sunday marks the ninth all-time meeting between the two programs
  • The Bucs are 4-0-4 all-time against the Spartans
  • The two teams played to a 2-2 draw last season in Johnson City … The Bucs scored a pair of second-half goals to earn the tie
  • ETSU's last two trips to Spartanburg have resulted in draws – 0-0 on Sept. 10, 2022 and 1-1 on Nov. 3, 2012
  • The Bucs' last win over USC Upstate in Spartanburg came on Oct. 27, 2010, when ETSU came away with a 4-1 victory
WHAT'S NEXT
ETSU gears up for its third straight Big South opponent when the Bucs host Presbyterian on Thursday, Aug. 29 at 6 p.m.
 
For more information on Buccaneer men's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the men's soccer tab.
 
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Players Mentioned

Zayd Idlibi

#19 Zayd Idlibi

F
5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
Gabriel Ramos

#7 Gabriel Ramos

F
5' 6"
Graduate Student
Abdi Bahur

#10 Abdi Bahur

F
6' 1"
Freshman
Henrique Cruz

#15 Henrique Cruz

D
6' 3"
Junior
Ingvar Kolbjornsen

#9 Ingvar Kolbjornsen

MF
5' 7"
Freshman

Players Mentioned

Zayd Idlibi

#19 Zayd Idlibi

5' 10"
Redshirt Sophomore
F
Gabriel Ramos

#7 Gabriel Ramos

5' 6"
Graduate Student
F
Abdi Bahur

#10 Abdi Bahur

6' 1"
Freshman
F
Henrique Cruz

#15 Henrique Cruz

6' 3"
Junior
D
Ingvar Kolbjornsen

#9 Ingvar Kolbjornsen

5' 7"
Freshman
MF