ROCK HILL, S.C. – East Tennessee State scored the only goal midway through the second half Tuesday night to beat Winthrop 1-0 in a nonconference men’s soccer match at Eagle Field.
The loss drops the Eagles to 5-7-1 overall, with a 2-2 mark in Big South play, ahead of a milestone home match this weekend. East Tennessee State, which plays in the Southern Conference, improved to 7-6-2.
Winthrop had the better of the early chances. In the 11th minute, junior forward Pablo Ortega redirected a ball in front of goal from inside the 6-yard box, but the ETSU keeper saved it. Ortega got the rebound and put a second shot on frame. That one was also stopped, bounced around the goalmouth and stayed out.
Six minutes later, sophomore forward Juma Baden had an open header from about 10 yards out that went just over the crossbar. At the other end, junior goalkeeper Euan Brindley handled every ETSU shot on target, and the teams went to halftime scoreless.
The deciding goal came in the 63rd minute off an ETSU corner kick. The ball bounced off several players in the box before popping out to Micah Kwende, who placed a shot into the lower right corner from the edge of the 6-yard box.
Winthrop nearly answered four minutes later, when a header from junior defender Josh Murray just missed the top left corner.
The statistics were close throughout. Each team took 14 shots, and ETSU held a 4-3 edge in shots on goal. Brindley and ETSU goalkeeper Sam McGee each made three saves. The match was physical, with 35 combined fouls, 18 by ETSU and 17 by Winthrop.
Winthrop hosts Longwood at 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17, at Eagle Field. The match falls on Winthrop’s Alumni Weekend and will be the 1,000th game in the history of the men’s soccer program.
Story courtesy of Winthrop Athletics.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
