Lady Bucs come back from two goals to down Eagles

 

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sept. 9, 2012) – A day after receiving its 2011 championship rings, the ETSU women’s soccer team put together a championship-caliber comeback by erasing a 2-0 deficit with four unanswered goals to defeat Winthrop, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Summers-Taylor Stadium.

ETSU (6-1-0) went down two goals 22 minutes into the game, but ignited its offense in the 25th minute when Ramey Kerns’ (Kings Mountain, N.C.) scored her ninth goal of the season. Sophomore Ellis Parsons (Cardiff, Wales) sent in the equalizer moments later, followed by the first of two goals on the afternoon for freshman Sarah Zadrazil (St. Gilgen, Austria). The Austrian midfielder sealed the Lady Bucs’ sixth win of the season, giving ETSU some insurance with the game’s final score late in the second half.

The two-goal comeback is ETSU’s first since Oct. 20, 2006, when the Lady Bucs rallied for three second-half goals to defeat Belmont, 3-2. The last time ETSU rallied from two goals down to score four or more goals of their own was Oct. 6, 2005, when it netted five in the second half to take down Lipscomb, 5-2.

“Winthrop started the game very brightly,” ETSU head coach Adam Sayers said. “As we have done so many times this season, our response was magnificent. We didn’t panic, remained composed and made a slight tactical adjustment.”

Kerns, who will be among the nation’s leading goal scorers when the NCAA releases its first official statistics on Monday, assisted both of Zadrazil’s goals, giving her four points in the game and moving her weekend total to 10 following Friday’s hat-trick. The Kings Mountain, N.C. native already has nine goals and 21 points to her credit just seven games into the season, and has scored a goal in six consecutive games.

“It was a great performance from the whole team,” Zadrazil said. “Ramey gave me two great assists on my goals, and there was a great goal from Ellis.”

It was Zadrazil who put together the game’s highest point total, assisting Parsons’ equalizer and netting a brace to amass five points on the day. The freshman’s assist was her team and A-Sun leading seventh of the season.

“Sarah Zadrazil was absolutely magnificent throughout,” Sayers said. “She’s been constantly getting into those positions all season, and she took her chances very well today.”

Freshman goalkeeper Kara Krajenta (Cordova, Tenn.) was charged with the two early goals, but pulled through for the Lady Bucs with a career-high seven saves to hold the Eagles off the scoreboard the remainder of the game and allow ETSU to build its comeback.

Krystyna Freda got the ball rolling for Winthrop in the early going, scoring her first goal of the season 11 minutes in, and followed with her second 11 minutes later.

ETSU responded quickly, putting through its first goal of the afternoon less than five minutes after Freda’s second score. Junior Samantha Kron (Paradise Valley, Ariz.) lined up for a corner, which freshman midfielder Alexa Passingham (Leicestershire, England) won in the air to leave Kerns with the ball just feet from goal. The junior striker converted on what may have been her easiest chance of the year, bringing the Lady Bucs within one.

Winthrop’s once two-goal lead was vanished minutes later, when Parsons struck from a few yards outside of the right half of the box for her first goal of the season. Zadrazil led Parsons with a pass on the run, and the Welsh national player drove a brilliant shot just out of the reach of keeper Amelia Henderson and into the left side of goal.

Five minutes before halftime, Zadrazil put ETSU in front. Kerns left a ball for the Austrian freshman in the box, who brought it almost down to the end line before taking an angled shot into the left side of goal.

At the break, ETSU led on three goals off seven shots. The Lady Bucs cleared Winthrop’s 2-0 advantage in just 7:17, and took the lead 4:33 before the half.

The second half was much quieter in terms of goals, but ETSU made sure of the result with some great combination play between Zadrazil and Kerns. Leading by just one with less than seven minutes to play, Zadrazil received the ball inside the penalty area, passing it out to Kerns who quickly returned the favor to leave Zadrazil one-on-one with Henderson for the 4-2 final.

ETSU will hit the road for its next match, traveling to Farmville, Va. on Friday for a 2 p.m. meeting with Longwood.

Notes

- Kerns’ goal was her A-Sun leading ninth of the season. She has scored in the last six games, and had netted the last six ETSU goals before Parsons scored her first of the season. Kerns has also accumulated 21 points to lead the conference.

- Zadrazil leads the A-Sun with seven assists. The Austrian’s two goals moved her season total to three as she is second on the team in points with 13.

- The win from two goals down is ETSU’s first since Oct. 20, 2006 when it defeated Belmont, 3-2. The last time ETSU rallied from two goals down to score four or more goals of their own was Oct. 6, 2005, when it netted five in the second half to take down Lipscomb, 5-2.

- After just seven games, Kerns trails the ETSU record for goals in a season by three. Erin Ashton holds the record, scoring 12 times in 2002.

- Zadrazil’s seven assists puts her just three assists behind former Buc Katie Green for most assists in a season. Green tallied 10 in 2007.