JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 12, 2026) - Roller coasters go up and down and loop and spiral in all manner of patterns and directions, but they all eventually smooth out into an enjoyable ride.
Over the last two weeks, the Buccaneers have become roller coaster tycoons.
The ETSU men's soccer team defeated Belmont 4-3 on Saturday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium in a game that featured five first-half goals, four official reviews, and multiple prolonged stoppages, but ended with Joe Gonzalez scoring on a direct free kick just past the hour mark to give the Buccaneers (3-3-0) their second win in as many games.
The Bruins (2-3-1) thought they had gotten on the board in the 11th minute when Paul Claes Nielsen drifted a cross from the right wing for a tap-in for Jaxon Stokes, but Nielsen had received the ball in an offside position upon video review, negating the goal. The Belmont midfielder took matters into his own hands 51 seconds later, when the next break down the field gave him room to fire a shot from 18 yards away that used a defender as a screen on Noé Delmotte and snuck inside the left post.
The Bucs mounted their answer less than 90 seconds later. Pressure by Ulysses Hendriks stepping up from his midfield spot forced a turnover in the attacking third. Gavin Dick linked up with Hendriks, who laid it off to Caleb Powell for a low and hard right-footed shot from 16 yards out on the right side for his first goal as a Buccaneer and the second of the veteran winger's career.
In the 29th minute, ETSU struck again when Dick thwarted a clearance and fired a high arching shot from 25 yards out that caught Belmont goalkeeper Brody Sucher off his line and drifted into the back-left corner for Dick's second goal in as many games. The Bruins needed just 77 seconds to equalize when Palmer Hendrix drifted a cross from the right flank onto Nate Mefford's foot, and Mefford turned and fired right through the hands of Delmotte from point-blank range. They took the lead in the 37th minute when Hendrix put in another cross, this time low and bouncing through multiple ETSU defenders to Zain Abdelhadi on the back post for a tap-in to score his first collegiate goal and give Belmont the edge at the break.
The Bucs cranked up the pressure in the second half, bolstered by the fresh legs of Gonzalez up top. Off a clearing attempt in the wake of a corner kick, Matias Delellis charged in from his right back spot and headed the ball back into the Belmont box, where Jaime Carrillo chested it down and slotted it home for his second goal in three games in the 57th minute.
Another 3:17 went by before they threw the knockout punch with Gonzalez curling a shot around the wall on a direct free kick from 25 yards out, the freshman's second goal in as many games, to get the Bucs back to .500 in 2026.
ETSU outshot Belmont 19-14 with 10 shots on goal to six for the Bruins. Dick collected a multi-point game with a goal and an assist, and both Dick and Carrillo extended point streaks to three consecutive games. The Bucs have scored 10 goals in their last three games, the most in a three-game stretch since October 6-14, 2023.
The Bucs return to action Wednesday at UNC Asheville before opening SoCon play at Wofford on September 19.
For more information on ETSU men's soccer, go to ETSUBucs.com.
