JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (Sep. 10, 2025) – The Bucs were on the brink of their first win of 2025.
They’ll have to keep waiting.
ETSU played Radford to a 2-2 draw on Wednesday night at Summers-Taylor Stadium. Jaime Carrillo scored a spectacular brace in the first half to give the Buccaneers (0-4-1) a 2-0 lead, but the Highlanders (1-2-2) clawed their way back in the second half and held on amid a frantic final burst for a draw.
The junior from Amarillo, Texas, created stress on the Radford back line in the first quarter of an hour with pace down the wing, drawing a pair of offside flags in the process, but it was in tight quarters where he opened his ETSU account. A Berkay Duman cross was flicked forward perfectly by a Gabriel Betancourt header onto the feet of Carrillo with room to turn past the center back. He fired a curling shot past the reach of goalkeeper Ben Miller from a tight angle in the 14th minute to give ETSU their first lead in any game this season. The goal was Carrillo’s fourth in college, and Betancourt’s assist marked his first collegiate point.
Carrillo doubled the lead 18 minutes later. A header off an Emil Holmberg goal kick fell to the feet of Duman in the attacking third, and he threaded a pass between the center backs to Carrillo in stride. Carrillo had time and space to settle and deked past the defender crashing in to stop him before firing a shot low and hard to the back right corner to put ETSU in a commanding position going into halftime.
In the 54th minute, Radford’s comeback began with a mental error.
Carter McClain streaked down the right wing for the Highlanders, caught Holmberg well off his line, and fired a shot for a uncontested goal. Hiromasa Iwai got free in the box off an Anton Jerga cross in the 71st minute, and Holmberg got hands to the ball but couldn’t control it, and it caromed off his gloves and into the goal behind him to put the Highlanders level.
ETSU won a corner off a strong run by Noah Franks in the 90th minute and created multiple chances in the final seconds. Franks himself had a shot blocked after taking an extra touch to get onto his right foot and Stanley Isaac had a shot saved off the line at the right post by Radford midfielder Donovan McClellan, allowing the Highlanders to clear their lines and hang on for the draw.
Carrillo and Isaac paced the Bucs with five shots and three shots on goal apiece.
The Bucs host UNC Asheville Tuesday night at 6:00 pm.
For more information on ETSU men’s soccer, go to ETSUBucs.com.
