JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Aug. 25, 2024) – Reagan Fitzgerald put the Buccaneers on the board in the 69th minute; however, it wasn't enough to spark a late comeback as ETSU women's soccer ended its home stand with a 3-1 setback to Liberty on Sunday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
 
After giving Tennessee all it could handle on Thursday night, the Blue & Gold met another difficult challenge as the Flames are the reigning Conference USA champion. Liberty struck for three first-half goals and Grace Workman kept the Bucs scoreless in the opening 45 minutes. Liberty, who out-shot ETSU 15-1 in the first half, scored its first goal from Sallie Garner in the 21st minute, while Ava Goodman (38th minute) and Isabella Wedemeyer (41st) minute added to the Flames' lead right before halftime.
 
ETSU put some pressure on the Flames in the final 45 minutes with five of its six shots coming in the second stanza. Natalie Capannelli missed from a dead-center shot right outside the 18-yard box in the 52nd minute, and with more pressure coming 10 minutes later, the Bucs finally broke through off a set piece on their second corner in nearly a one-minute span.
 
Georgia Shields took the corner and found Paige Carlsen who sent one overhead into the box, which resulted in Fitzgerald heading one home for her first goal of the season.
 
Both teams played the final 21 minutes scoreless, and Liberty capped off the two-goal victory.
 
For the match, Liberty out-shot the Bucs, 26-6, while Ashton Blair made nine saves on the afternoon. Blair now has 151 career saves, which ranks seventh-most in program history. Fitzgerald led the Blue & Gold with two shots.

With the loss, ETSU moved to 1-3 on the season, while Liberty improved to 4-0. 
 
ETSU now embarks on a three-match road swing beginning Thursday night at Davidson. Game time is set for 6 p.m.
 
For more information on Buccaneer women's soccer, visit ETSUBucs.com and click on the women's soccer tab.