SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Defender Connor Davis headed home a game-winning goal in double overtime to give the men's soccer team their first Southern Conference victory of the season Tuesday night, a 3-2 win over East Tennessee State at Snyder Field.
 
Just a minute and change into double overtime, Wofford (6-1-1, 1-0-0 SoCon) was awarded a corner kick. Midfielder Jonathan Dean lined up the kick and found Davis in the box, who headed it into the left side of the net past Buccaneer keeper Jonny Sutherland at the 102' mark. It was Davis's third goal of the season and the 18th of his career.
 
The Terriers were down 2-0 early in the first half. A foul in the box on Davis awarded ETSU with a penalty kick opportunity, which midfielder James Smith shot right while Terrier goalkeeper Joe Wichmann dove the other way. The goal was Smith's fourth of the season.
 
The Buccaneers (3-3-1, 0-1-0 SoCon) scored again in the 29th minute. Defender Fletcher Ekern dribbled past two Wofford defenders on the right side of the box and shot the ball past Wichmann into the center of the net, giving ETSU a 2-0 lead at halftime, the largest deficit Wofford had faced all season.
 
"We weren't good in the first half at all," head coach Ralph Polson said after the game. "We very easily could have been down 3-0 at the half. We're chasing the game because we are down. It was frustrating, but we made a couple little tweaks pushing guys up higher and making them defend a little bit more."
 
"I told them at halftime, the next goal determines the outcome of this game," Coach Polson said. "If we get the first one, then we've got a good chance of winning."
 
The halftime adjustments worked for Wofford, as the team took a flurry of shots in the second half, and their break came in the 69th minute.
 
Forward Matthew Ward took the ball down the left side of the field and centered the ball to midfielder Connor Donohue. Donohue took one touch and fired a shot that scored Wofford's first goal of the night. The goal was Donohue's second of the season.
 
Less than 30 seconds later, forward Matthew Aurednik was fouled hard in the box and was consequently awarded a penalty kick. Aurednik converted the kick for his fourth goal of the season, tying the match up at 2-2. The goal was also Aurednik's 19th goal of his career, tying him with teammate Nestor Jaramillo on Wofford's career goals list.
 
"We worked hard all night long," Polson said. "We played a good number of guys and they all contributed, giving us something when they were in there. I'm happy we got away with a victory. We'll take it. We've got work to do, but it's easier to correct problems when you are winning because it's one or two little things we need to tweak."
 
The Buccaneers played with 10 men in the overtime period after a second yellow card and a red card were issued to defender Corentin Ohlmann with one second left in regulation.
 
Overall, the Buccaneers outshot the Terriers in the match 19-17, but the Terriers took seven corner kicks compared to the Buccaneers' six corner attempts.
 
Wichmann earned the victory in net for the Terriers, playing all 102 minutes in net and racking up five saves. Sutherland took the loss for the Buccaneers, finishing the match with four saves.
 
The win extended Wofford's home unbeaten streak to 11 straight games, dating back to the 2013 season. The last team to beat the Terriers at home was ETSU, a 3-2 OT loss on November 5, 2013.
 
The match was also noteworthy for the deficit Wofford overcame to win. The last time the Terriers came from two goals down to win was against USC Upstate last season at home (Sept. 24). The last time the Terriers pulled off such a feat in double overtime was at South Carolina October 17, 2012.
 
The Terriers travel to Macon, Ga., for their next contest, as the team faces Mercer Saturday at 2 p.m.