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.