Thursday, November 5
Johnson City, Tenn.
3:00 PM ET
Liberty University
6-7-3, 3-3-0
2
at
2
ETSU
7-6-6, 2-0-4
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberty | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| ETSU | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
11/5/2026 8:36:00 PM | Men's Soccer
JOHNSON CITY, TENN. – The No. 5 seed Liberty Flames advanced to the SoCon Semifinals, advancing on penalty kicks 3-1 over the No. 4 seed East Tennessee Buccaneers Thursday afternoon in the SoCon Men's Soccer Quarterfinals at Summers-Taylor Stadium.
After playing to a 2-2 tie after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, Liberty and ETSU went to a shootout. During the shootout, Flames' goalkeeper Dan Rose stopped three of the four Buccaneers, while Samson Kpardeh, Lachlan Middleton and Roope Salo each made their attempt to propel Liberty into the semifinals.
Kpardeh, Liberty's leading goal scorer, netted both Flames' goals during regulation. The forward converted a penalty kick during the 34th minute and then gave Liberty a 2-1 lead with a goal during the 54th minute.
Host ETSU tied the contest during the 57th minute. Later in the second half, the Buccaneers went a man down after a red card in the 84th minute and played the rest of the way with 10.
Neither team was able to score during overtime, sending the match to a shootout.
Liberty advances to the SoCon Semifinals against the No. 1 seed Furman Paladins in Greenville, S.C., on Sunday. The Flames move to 6-7-3 on the year. ETSU sees its season come to an end with a 7-6-6 mark.
Scoring Summary
10' – ETSU – Marko Odoric (Assisted by Elliot Edwards and Jamie Carillo)
34' – LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh (Penalty Kick)
54' – LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh (Assisted by Manuel Vitorino)
57' – ESTU – Marko Odoric (Unassisted)
Shootout Summary
LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh – Made
ETSU – Elliot Edwards – Miss (Save: Dan Rose)
LIBERTY – Ronnie Gorman – Miss (Save: Sam McGee)
ETSU – Joe Gonzalez – Made
LIBERTY – Lachlan Middleton – Made
ETSU – Matias Delellis – Miss (Save: Sam McGee)
LIBERTY – Roope Salo – Made
ETSU – Gavin Dick (Save: Dan Rose)
Key Stats & Notes
Next Up
Liberty travels to Greenville, S.C., to face the No. 1 seed Furman Paladins in a SoCon Semifinal on Sunday at Stone Stadium. Match time is set for 7 p.m. The winner will advance to play the winner of the No. 3 seed UNCG Spartans and No. 2 seed Wofford Terriers in the SoCon Championship game on either Nov. 13 or 14.
After playing to a 2-2 tie after 90 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime, Liberty and ETSU went to a shootout. During the shootout, Flames' goalkeeper Dan Rose stopped three of the four Buccaneers, while Samson Kpardeh, Lachlan Middleton and Roope Salo each made their attempt to propel Liberty into the semifinals.
Kpardeh, Liberty's leading goal scorer, netted both Flames' goals during regulation. The forward converted a penalty kick during the 34th minute and then gave Liberty a 2-1 lead with a goal during the 54th minute.
Host ETSU tied the contest during the 57th minute. Later in the second half, the Buccaneers went a man down after a red card in the 84th minute and played the rest of the way with 10.
Neither team was able to score during overtime, sending the match to a shootout.
Liberty advances to the SoCon Semifinals against the No. 1 seed Furman Paladins in Greenville, S.C., on Sunday. The Flames move to 6-7-3 on the year. ETSU sees its season come to an end with a 7-6-6 mark.
Scoring Summary
10' – ETSU – Marko Odoric (Assisted by Elliot Edwards and Jamie Carillo)
34' – LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh (Penalty Kick)
54' – LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh (Assisted by Manuel Vitorino)
57' – ESTU – Marko Odoric (Unassisted)
Shootout Summary
LIBERTY – Samson Kpardeh – Made
ETSU – Elliot Edwards – Miss (Save: Dan Rose)
LIBERTY – Ronnie Gorman – Miss (Save: Sam McGee)
ETSU – Joe Gonzalez – Made
LIBERTY – Lachlan Middleton – Made
ETSU – Matias Delellis – Miss (Save: Sam McGee)
LIBERTY – Roope Salo – Made
ETSU – Gavin Dick (Save: Dan Rose)
Key Stats & Notes
- Liberty outshot ETSU, 33-12, in the contest. The Flames had 13 shots on goal, while the Buccaneers put four shots on target.
- Liberty held an 8-6 advantage in corner kicks over ETSU, 8-6.
- The Flames had 33 shot attempts for the second consecutive match. Liberty had 33 in 90 minutes in a 5-0 win over VMI in its final game of the regular season last Friday. Today, they had the same number over 110 minutes.
- Kpardeh, an All-SoCon first team member, scored his team-leading eighth and ninth goals of the season in the match.
- Manuel Vitorino assisted on Kpardeh's second goal of the game. For Vitorino, it was his fourth assist of 2026, tying him with Ronnie Gorman and Javan Ochieng for the Liberty lead.
- During regulation and overtime, Liberty goalkeeper Dan Rose made two saves. He then made three saves during the shootout. ETSU goalkeeper Noe Delmotte recorded 11 saves during the 110 minutes of play. Sam McGee replaced Delmotte in the Buccaneers net for the shootout and stopped only one of the four Liberty attempts.
- Liberty went to a shootout for the first time since falling to Eastern Illinois on penalty kicks, 3-1, in an Ohio Valley Conference Quarterfinals on Nov. 5, 2023.
Next Up
Liberty travels to Greenville, S.C., to face the No. 1 seed Furman Paladins in a SoCon Semifinal on Sunday at Stone Stadium. Match time is set for 7 p.m. The winner will advance to play the winner of the No. 3 seed UNCG Spartans and No. 2 seed Wofford Terriers in the SoCon Championship game on either Nov. 13 or 14.
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's SoccerTeam Stats
LIB
ETSU
Goals
2
2
Shots
33
12
Shots on Goal
13
4
Saves
2
11
Corners
8
6
Fouls
12
13
Scoring Plays
Marko Odorcic (2)
Assisted By: Elliot Edwards , Jaime Carrillo
GOAL by ETSU Odorcic, Marko Assist by Edwards, Elliot and Carrillo, Jaime.
09:58
Samson Kpardeh (8)
LIB Samson Kpardeh PENALTY KICK GOAL.
33:57
Samson Kpardeh (8)
Assisted By: Manuel Vitorino
GOAL by LIB Kpardeh, Samson Assist by Vitorino, Manuel.
53:40
Marko Odorcic (2)
GOAL by ETSU Odorcic, Marko.
56:43
Game Leaders
Shots
6
SOG
3
Goals
2
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
9
SOG
4
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
0
Assists
0
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