JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Bucs’ Chris McKenna was in the right place at the right time for ETSU men’s soccer on Saturday night.
Tied with Mercer, 1-1, ETSU’s Tarik Pannholzer scrambled to the near-side flag for one last corner kick. The out-swinging ball cleared the first cluster of players and fell right to the leg of the graduate defender.
His redirection grazed off the inside of the post and in – with just three seconds remaining in the match. The 90th-minute tally gave ETSU a 2-1 victory over the Bears in dramatic fashion, and helped them secure their first SoCon regular season championship since 2017.
The scoring started for the Blue and Gold in the 15th minute when Kieran Richards slotted home a tally, making it 1-0.
Mercer responded in the 60th minute on a ball played into the box and headed home by Sekou Agard.
The Bucs’ keeper, Hunter Cole, made five saves on the night, as did Bears’ goalie, Trevor McMullen.
ETSU (9-5-2, 4-0-1 SoCon) have secured the top seed in next weekend’s SoCon Tournament. The Blue and Gold will host either Mercer or UNC-Greensboro in the conference semifinals on Sunday, November 5.
The match will begin at either 3 or 5 p.m.
