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Bucs use fast finish to make soccer playoffs

By Joe Avento
Press Sports Writer
javento@johnsoncitypress.com

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Talk about getting hot at the right time.

The East Tennessee State men’s soccer team parlayed a high scoring weekend into its first berth in the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament.

The Bucs, who closed the regular season by beating Lipscomb 3-0 and Belmont 3-1, will play host to Lipscomb in the quarterfinals Saturday at 2 p.m. at Summers-Taylor Stadium. ETSU is seeded third, while the Bisons are sixth.

“No one’s ready to hang their boots up yet,” Bucs coach Scott Calabrese said. “Winning is always good. It gives you confidence.”

The Bucs won four of their last six games to finish their second season 5-8-3 overall.

“We played well for the majority of the season, but we weren’t necessarily getting the results we deserved,” Calabrese said. “They never lost the belief we could win and would win. Finally, some things started clicking at the end. Now we’re playing very well, and this is the time of the year when you want to be playing very well.”

The six-goal outburst made Calabrese especially happy. His team had scored 13 goals in its first 14 games.

“Our players are more composed in the final third, making better decisions,” Calabrese said. “Because of that, they’re starting to score goals and their confidence has gone up.”

Sean Hoek leads the team with five goals. Aaron Schoenfeld has three.

While the offense was late coming around, defense has been the key. ETSU is the stingiest team in the league and senior goalkeeper Scott Rosman was the league’s player of the week for his performances against Lipscomb and Belmont. He has five shutouts this season.

“When our defense plays as solidly as they have been, we’re just a difficult team to break down,” Calabrese said. “Scott’s been great. He’s got experience and he’s a mature person, a leader. Even if they do break us down, we can count on Scott to come up with a big save.”

Saturday’s winner will take on second-seeded Stetson in the semifinals Thursday at Buies Creek, N.C. Top-seeded Campbell and Stetson received byes into the semifinals.

North Florida and Mercer are meeting in the other quarterfinal on Saturday. The championship game is scheduled for Nov. 14 at Campbell.

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Adding the soccer game to the campus schedule forced some changes for other sports.

The women’s basketball exhibition game against King College has been moved up to noon at Memorial Center. The Lady Bucs are coming off a 74-61 exhibition victory over the University of the Cumberlands.

ETSU’s regular-season opener is Nov. 13 when it plays host to former Southern Conference foe Chattanooga.

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The volleyball team changed its game time for Saturday’s home match against Jacksonville to 4 p.m.

ETSU is seventh in the A-Sun standings at 7-9 with two matches to go. The top six teams after this weekend qualify for the league tournament. ETSU (9-16 overall) has qualified the last four years.

The Lady Bucs also play host to North Florida on Friday at 7 p.m.

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Homecoming weekend will have an interesting twist for the men’s basketball team, which will have a reunion for all former players, coaches and staff.

As the Bucs prepare for their Nov. 14 game against Appalachian State, those taking part in the reunion will be invited to the team’s morning shoot-around and pregame meal. They will also receive free tickets to that day’s game.

To reserve a place at the reunion, call Andrew Greene at (336) 262-8352 or send an e-mail to etsubasketball@etsu.edu. The deadline is Nov. 11.

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Three top-10 finishes have earned Rhys Enoch the A-Sun’s golfer of the month award. Enoch has moved up to No. 30 in the Golfweek/Sagarin individual rankings.

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When the women’s golf team won the recent Palmetto Intercollegiate at Kiawah Island, S.C., the team had a little more help than usual.

Darren Howard, head professional at The Ridges Golf & Country Club, made the trip with the Lady Bucs. Howard has been serving as a part-time assistant to head coach Stefanie Shelton.

The win, by 16 strokes, was the program’s 10th. All have come under Shelton.