Geno breaks ETSU career goals record, Wilson ties with :03 left

 

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Oct. 9, 2012) -- Eleven seconds remained and ETSU found itself down by a goal to the 18th-ranked Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Tuesday night. What happened next sent the Summers-Taylor Stadium crowd into an absolute frenzy.

Off a desperation cross from Itode Fubara (Ogbema, Nigeria) on the other side of midfield, junior David Geno (Kingsport, Tenn.) flicked the ball up from the edge of the box over Wake Forest (7-2-4, 1-1-3 ACC) defenders and found the leaping Emmanuel Wilson (Memphis, Tenn). The redshirt freshman met the ball in the air and headed in the dramatic equalizer with :03 on the clock, ultimately extending ETSU's (6-5-2, 2-1-0 A-Sun) unbeaten streak against top 25 teams to six games.

“Fubara played a great ball,” said Wilson on his second goal of the season. “Geno played a nice little flick to the back post. I saw it coming down and just ran at it. I threw my whole body ahead of it and caught the goalie off guard. It just went in.”

The final minute of regulation was chaos. Wake Forest had possession deep inside ETSU territory, and seemed to have the game well in hand. ETSU fought for possession with less than 15 seconds left, and created a loose ball situation. Danny Wenzel went sliding in for the ball, but was whistled for a foul and issued a yellow card by referee Skye Arthur-Banning, who signaled to stop the clock with 11 seconds remaining.

Fubara launched in the free kick, Geno played it on and Wilson found himself in the right place at the right time late in a game for the second time this season. The Bucs were scoreless against Presbyterian in late August, until Wilson fired in his first collegiate goal with 4:47 remaining to win the game.

Geno scored Tuesday night’s first goal, putting ETSU ahead in the 30th minute on the 21st of his career. That mark surpasses former Buccaneer Aaron Schoenfeld for the most in program history.

“This game really showed a lot about our character,” said Geno, who now owns the ETSU career records in goals, assists (13) and points (55). “We fought back.

“I think the record is more of a team record. It really shows that a lot goes behind somebody scoring; it’s not just one person. It really shows a lot about our team and how we play.”

Geno’s record-breaking goal was assisted by junior defender Blaike Woodruff (Georgetown, Texas), who tied Geno and the ETSU single-season record with his fifth helper. Through the Bucs’ five-year history, five assists have been recorded in a season five times by four different players. Geno is the only to appear twice on that list, registering five assists in 2010.

As for Tuesday night, ETSU and Wake Forest finished dead even at 15 shots apiece. It did not start that way, as Wake Forest imposed its will through the majority of the first half.

Luciano Delbono and Jalen Robinson put on the game’s first shots, helping the Demon Deacons control the flow of the opening stages. It was not until the 24th minute that ETSU began to create chances, beginning with a corner from Nate Hodges (Meridan Miss.) which led to a shot from Fubara that was saved by Michael Lisch. Lisch finished with the game with five saves.

With possession still favoring the 2007 National Champion, the Bucs struck on the counterattack to snag the lead. Woodruff brought the ball near the end line along the right edge of the penalty area, and got a pass off through the box. The cross deflected off a defender and floated through the air until it was struck by the outstretched leg of Geno and over Lisch for the record-breaking goal.

ETSU seemed to level out the possession battle after the score, but Wake Forest responded with the equalizer just minutes before halftime. The Demon Deacons pushed the ball into the left side of the penalty area, but were dispossessed in the process. The loose ball wandered through the middle of the box, and was met by Sean Okoli who blasted a missle by Ryan Coulter (Dublin, Ireland).

The score remained even until the 12th minute of the second half, when Wake took the lead courtesy of Michael Gamble. Ben Newman sent a cross through from the right side that Coulter attempted to come out and grab. The ball evaded the diving keeper and, before he could recover, Gamble gained possession along the left edge of the area and put in go-ahead goal.

With time running short, head coach Scott Calabrese subbed in more attacking players. Wilson came in to replace David Haba (Germantown, Tenn.) with 13 minutes to play, followed by the reentering of Luis Calzadilla (Caracas, Venezuela) and Franck Doumbe (Silver Spring, Md.).

The substitutions of Calzadilla and Doumbe came with less than 10 mintues remaining. ETSU pressured Lisch with five shots and two corners after putting on its attackers. One of those shots came from Calzadilla with less than a minute to play, that was blocked out of play.

The final minute of regulation ensued.

ETSU finishes the non-conference season at 4-4-2, with impressive results against UAB, Furman and Wake Forest. The six-game unbeaten streak against NSCAA Top 25 opponents survives, but the Bucs must now turn their attention to A-Sun play where the ultimate goal is a conference championship and a second berth into the NCAA Tournament.

ETSU Notes

- ETSU is unbeaten against its last six NSCAA Top 25 teams. The streak dates back to Aug. 31 of last year when the Bucs defeated UNC Greensboro with 43 seconds left in double-overtime, 1-0.

- ETSU’s six-game, top 25 unbeaten streak includes three wins and three ties. The wins came against UNCG, William & Mary and UAB. Two ties came against Furman, with a third tie to Wake Forest.

- David Geno scored the 21st goal of his career, passing Aaron Schoenfeld for the most in ETSU history. Geno now owns the career marks in goals, assists (13) and points (55).

- Emmanuel Wilson scored with three seconds left, notching his second goal of the season. His other came as the lone goal with 4:47 to play in the win over Presbyterian.

- Blaike Woodruff (Georgetown, Texas) tallied his fifth assist of the season and the 10th of his collegiate career. He is tied with Geno and three others for the most in a single-season.

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