JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 8, 2025) - Emil Holmberg's first career shutout is one he will remember for a long time – if only because of how bizarre the entire sequence of events was.
ETSU played Winthrop to a 0-0 draw on Wednesday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium in their final nonconference game of the season.
The Buccaneers (1-5-4) and Eagles (1-8-1) played a tentative first half that saw few viable chances and even fewer quality ones, but the game jolted to life when Ulysses Hendriks, already on a yellow card, was given a second yellow and ejected in the 50th minute. It was the third red card issued to ETSU this season, giving Winthrop a man advantage for 40 long minutes to push for a second consecutive win.
Winthrop nearly broke through in the 58th when defender Joah Straube got his head onto the end of a free kick from the goalkeeper's left, but Holmberg made a lunging parry save to turn the shot away to keep the score level.
The final 20 minutes were a free-for-all, starting when Shewit Worton stuck with a play and got the ball in space on the right side of the box and rifled a shot low and hard to the back post only to be turned away by the outstretched right leg of Winthrop 'keeper Jack Kilstrom. Holmberg was forced into action again on a clean look from Diomario Adamson shortly after, and ETSU turned up the heat the other way, controlling the ball for long stretches and taking the game to the Eagles despite their numbers disadvantage.
Each side had one more good look in the final 10 minutes. Jaime Carrillo dribbled through traffic and rifled a shot toward the left post that proved routine for Kilstrom, and an odd-man break the other way forced Holmberg off his line to cut down the angle against Takumi Sato for a point-blank kick save.
Holmberg earned his first career shutout by stopping all four Winthrop shots on goal while Kilstrom earned his first of the year by stopping five ETSU shots on goal. Winthrop held a decisive advantage on the total shot counter, 17-7.
Just four games remain in the regular season for the Bucs, starting Saturday night when they visit Furman for a 7:00pm clash.
For more information on ETSU men's soccer, go to ETSUBucs.com.
