MACON, Ga. (Sep. 25, 2025) – History is within reach as the ETSU women's soccer team seeks its record-tying seventh consecutive win on Friday against the formidable Mercer Bears. Kickoff is set for 6:00pm at Betts Stadium in Macon.

MATCHUP: ETSU (7-2-2) at Mercer (5-4-1)
DATE: September 26, 2025, 6:00pm
VENUE: Betts Stadium (Macon, Ga.)
LIVE STATS: StatBroadcast
LIVE VIDEO: ESPN+
 
ETSU tied the program's longest unbeaten streak with their seventh straight game without a loss after beating UNCG 1-0 on Sunday. Ruby Teixeira scored the game winner in the 75th minute on a sequence that netted the first career assists for Caroline Wawak and Kassie Estep. The streak began with a 1-1 draw at Tennessee Tech on August 28, and the Bucs have won the subsequent six games. The unbeaten streak ties the school record of seven games – all of which were wins – from September 23-October 14, 2011, a run which powered the Buccaneers to the 2011 Atlantic Sun regular season title. Six consecutive wins ties for the second-longest run in the history of ETSU women's soccer with August 22-September 4, 2014.

During the streak, Regan Fitzgerald has scored six goals and has one assist. Teixeira has two goals and an assist, and Jada Cooper has two goals and two assists, including the 83rd minute game-winner at The Citadel on September 18. Fitzgerald is the outright goal-scoring leader in the SoCon with eight, and is tied for the league lead in points with 17. She is eighth in the country in goals and 20th in total points.

At the back, Addison Yelton ranks among the best goalkeepers in the country, leading the SoCon in goals against average (0.71) and ranking 16^th in Division I in shutouts with five. Estep, Ella Parker, and Georgia Shields have held down the back line, with Shields playing 360 consecutive minutes at left back, Estep playing 438 consecutive minutes at center back, and Ella Parker playing 448 of the last 450 minutes at right back and center back.

The Bears opened SoCon play with a comeback from down 2-0 to salvage a draw at Furman, then conceding in the 68th minute in a 2-1 loss to reigning champions Western Carolina. Freshman Payton Nutzman and Oklahoma transfer Morganne Eikelbarner lead the team with six goals apiece, and Nutzman is tied with Fitzgerald atop the points list in the SoCon.

Mercer is the most-played opponent in ETSU's history. The Bears have a decisive lead in the series at 15-6-4 and have won two of the last three meetings, with ETSU's last win coming in the 2023 SoCon Tournament quarterfinals in Johnson City. The Buccaneers have never won in Macon.

For more information on ETSU women's soccer, go to ETSUBucs.com.