Joao Ramalho – Redshirt Sophomore – Forward – East Tennessee State University
No player in the country had a greater impact on his team's success over the first weekend of play than ETSU forward Joao Ramalho who hails from Monte Santo, Brazil. He got the Bucs back on track after they fell behind early to William and Mary by netting goals in the 32nd and 46th minute of the match off assists from Emmanuel Wilson and Daniel Adelman. Teammate Warren Austin then scored the third ETSU goal and the Bucs pulled out a solid 3-2 win over the Tribe in the first evening of play in the VCU Invitational in Richmond, Virginia. Ramalho then followed that performance up with a two goal evening to lead ETSU to a 2-1 upset win over host VCU.
ETSU head coach Bo Oshoniyi stated, "This weekend was a big step for Joao (Romalho)." Oshoniyi who is in his first season as the head coach of the Bucs then added, "We needed someone to step up and put the ball in the back of the net, but what I am even more excited about is how hard he is working defensively. He has been contributibuting well on both sides and I think he is starting to see some of the benefits of it wich defense leading to some great scoring opportunities."
ETSU which is a member of the Southern Conference will host non-conference foe Radford on Saturday, September 6 at 7 p.m.
