University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
High Point
High Point Edges Men's Soccer 2-1
10.03.2009 | Men's Soccer
The Panthers (6-3-0, 2-0-0 BSC) trailed 1-0 at halftime after controlling play for most of the half before getting goals from Matt Tuttle and Fejiro Okiomah to earn their second straight victory.
The Bulldogs (4-6-1, 0-1-0 BSC) had only one shot in the first half but made it count when freshman David Parra picked up his first career goal at the 44:02 mark.
"High Point outplayed us for much of the day and deserved to win," said Asheville coach Steve Cornish. "We battled but just couldn't get the job done today. High Point is a very good team and is a tough team to stop on offense."
Asheville goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen made seven saves for the Bulldogs. High Point out-shot the home team 17-8 and had 11 corner kicks to four for Ashville.
Trailing 1-0 at halftime, the Panthers were able to tie the match early in the second half. The Bulldogs were called for a foul in the 52nd minute. Matt Tuttle converted the free kick into the right side of the goal to knot the match at 1-1 at 52:42.
Okiomah scored the game-winner in the 72nd minute. He took a pass from Ryan Puppolo and tucked the ball into the left side of the goal for a 2-1 Panther lead at 72:52.
After being limited to just two shots for much of the game, the Bulldog offense controlled the final part of the match. The Bulldogs fired the final six shots of the game, forcing Panther goalkeeper Michael Chesler to make four saves. Bryan George and Connor Holzinger hit shots that Chesler stopped.
High Point dominated the first half. The Panthers had three shots and four corner kicks in the first five minutes. Hurskainen stopped a Kendall Lawson shot 30 seconds into the match.
The visitors kept the pressure on and had the first 11 shots of the match. However, it was the Bulldogs who scored first. Eli Morrow stole an errant High Point pass and made a perfect pass to Parra who hit a shot low and into the left-side of the goal for a 1-0 Asheville lead at 44:02.
The Bulldogs host Big South foe Presbyterian Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m. High Point entertains Winthrop Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
