University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
Coastal Carolina
Men's Soccer Edged by Coastal Carolina, 1-0 In Semifinals
11.15.2008 | Men's Soccer
CONWAY, S.C. Second-seeded Coastal Carolina defeated sixth-seeded UNC Asheville
1-0 in the second semifinal game of the 2008 Big South Men's Soccer
Championship Friday at the Coastal Carolina Soccer Field on the campus of
Coastal Carolina University. The Chanticleers advance to Sunday's championship
game against No. 1 Winthrop at 2 p.m., and will make their first appearance in
the title match since 2005, where Coastal Carolina defeated the Eagles 1-0 in
overtime.
The match began slowly as both teams felt each other out in the opening 10
minutes. Coastal Carolina had the initial scoring chance, which came in the
30th minute. A Robert Hunter cross from 20 yards out found the foot of forward
Ross Kelly, but Bulldog goalkeeper Lasi Hurskainen made the his first of
several goal-saving stops.
The Chanticleer offensive attack was relentless throughout much of the opening
frame. Another quality chance came with 12:52 remaining in the first half, as a
Hunter corner kick found the head of teammate Thuba Nkomazana. He headed the
ball cleanly, but sent an attempt that flew narrowly over the crossbar.
The Bulldogs had their first serious threat on goal with in the 41st minute off
a throw-in from Asheville's Ryan Haupt deep in Chanticleer territory. The throw
found a streaking Asheville forward Bryan George, but the alert Chanticleer
keeper Phillip Latham raced off his line to make the stop.
The Chanticleers offensive persistence resulted in out-shooting Asheville by a
9-1 margin in the opening half.
The Bulldogs stepped up their offensive intensity early in the second half,
using Coastal Carolina's offensive pressure to their advantage and adapted a
counter-attack style of offense. This was never more evident than in the 54th
minute, as pair of Bulldog shots in Chanticleer territory was blocked, before a
.W. Gallagher attempt missed wide left. On the ensuing goal-kick, Colton
Paschall managed to rip a shot from 15 yards out, but Latham was up to the task
for the save.
Quality offensive chances were few and far between for both sides, as both
defenses were on point for the majority of the second frame, until Coastal
Carolina found the opportunity they were looking for with 8:59 remaining in the
match. Chanticleer midfielder Tim Pittman corralled a ball near the mid-line,
and sent a pass to Hunter, who sent a shot from 35 yards out to beat Hurskainen
to his left to give Coastal Carolina the 1-0 lead.
The Chanticleers, clinging to the 1-0 lead, were successful in protecting the
lead, and appeared to have the game won, until Bryan Bartels managed to squeak
through a packed in Chanticleer defense and took a shot inside the 18 that was
turned away by Latham in the final scoring chance of the match for either side.
Much like the first half, the Chanticleers out-shot the Bulldogs by a 8-2 margin
in the second frame, and 17-3 on the match.
"First and foremost, I would like to congratulate Coastal Carolina," stated UNC Asheville coach Steve Cornish. "They were
deserving winners. We were fortunate to go in 0-0. We gave it a go in the
second half. The game was very different in the second half. It came down to
who was going to score the first goal."
