| East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's soccer | |
| University: | East Tennessee State University |
| Conference: | Southern Conference |
| Conference Short: | SoCon |
| Founded: | 2008 |
| City: | Johnson City |
| Stateabb: | TN |
| State: | Tennessee |
| Coach: | Allen Vital |
| Tenure: | 1st |
| Stadium: | Summers-Taylor Stadium |
| Capacity: | 2,000 |
| Nickname: | Bucs |
| Pattern B1: | _thin_dark_grey_hoops |
| Leftarm1: | ffffff |
| Body1: | ffffff |
| Rightarm1: | ffffff |
| Shorts1: | ffffff |
| Socks1: | ffffff |
| Pattern B2: | _vnecknavy |
| Leftarm2: | FFC72C |
| Body2: | FFC72C |
| Rightarm2: | FFC72C |
| Shorts2: | FFC72C |
| Socks2: | FFC72C |
| Ncaatourneys: | 2010, 2013, 2016 |
| Conference Tournament: | 2010, 2013 |
| Conference Season: | 2016, 2023 |
The East Tennessee State Buccaneers men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, United States. The team is a member of the Southern Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. ETSU's first men's soccer team was fielded in 2008. The team plays its home games at Summers-Taylor Stadium on the ETSU campus. The Buccaneers were coached by Bo Oshoniyi until he was hired away by Dartmouth College. In March 2018, ETSU announced the hiring of former University of Kentucky assistant coach David Casper.[1] Following his dismissal in 2021, David Lilly assumed the post of head coach.[2] Lilly would go on to win the 2023 SoCon Coach of the Year award. [3] Allen Vital was appointed as the head coach in February of 2024 following the departure of David Lilly to UAB Blazers men's soccer. [4]
East Tennessee State's varsity soccer program began in 2008, when the Buccaneers began play in the Atlantic Sun Conference. Since the Bucs had already been an established Division I school in other sports and a full-member of the Atlantic Sun Conference, the new program was immediately eligible for postseason play, namely the Atlantic Sun Men's Soccer Tournament and the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship.
During the 2008 campaign, the Buccaneers fared well in non-conference play, achieving a record of 5–3 record; however, the Bucs finished towards the bottom of the A-Sun table, with a 1–7–1 conference record. It was not until 2010 that ETSU achieved a winning record, where the Bucs finished the season 15–6 overall and with a 7–2 conference record. Led by future professional Aaron Schoenfeld, the Bucs won both the Atlantic Sun regular season and the conference tournament, earning their first NCAA berth two years after the beginning of the program. The Bucs lost their first NCAA tournament match, 3–2, to the College of Charleston Cougars. The Bucs returned to the NCAAs in 2013 and 2016.
ETSU has appeared in three NCAA tournaments.
| Year | Record | Seed | Region | Round | Opponent | Results | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 15–6 | N/A | 1 | First Round | Charleston | L 2–3[6] | |
| 2013 | 10–6–4 | N/A | 2 | First Round | Coastal Carolina | L 0–2[7] | |
| 2016 | 12–5–3 | N/A | 4 | First Round | Virginia Tech | L 0–1[8] |