ASHEVILLE, N.C. ? Seven home matches, a tournament at Davidson plus a match at College Cup runner-up UNC Chapel Hill highlights the 2009 UNC Asheville men's soccer schedule that was released today by Bulldog head coach Steve Cornish.
“This year's schedule is certainly challenging but we're quite excited about the matches we have this year,” explained Cornish. “Our lads will be tested in each and every match, but we believe we can be very competitive in each match, as well.”
The 17-match schedule will be preceded with a home exhibition match against Catawba on Aug. 24. The season begins on Sept. 1 against the Tar Heels at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. UNC advanced to the NCAA championship game last season before falling to Maryland. The Bulldogs played the Tar Heels pretty close last year before falling 2-1 on a late goal.
“We'll find out a great deal about ourselves right away against Chapel Hill,” commented Cornish. “It would be hard for any team to have a tougher opener than we will at North Carolina”
Asheville has its home opener (Sept. 4) against local foe Brevard. The Bulldogs travel to Wofford (Sept. 7) before playing in a tournament at Davidson. Asheville plays the Wildcats (Sept. 11) and then takes on Georgetown (Sept. 13) for the first time ever.
The Bulldogs host USC Upstate (Sept. 16) and then hits the road for a date with Kentucky (Sept. 27). Asheville earned a point against the Wildcats last year for the first time ever when the teams played to a scoreless draw at Greenwood Field. The Bulldogs entertain East Tennessee State (Sept. 29) before embarking Big South Conference play.
Asheville opens Big South Conference play with two home matches as the Bulldogs battle High Point (Oct. 3) and Presbyterian (Oct. 6). Cornish's club plays its next four matches all on the road. The Bulldogs travel to Radford (Oct. 10), VMI (Oct. 17), defending Big South champion Winthrop (Oct. 24) and Gardner-Webb (Oct. 28).
The regular season finishes up with home matches against Coastal Carolina (Oct. 31) and Liberty (Nov. 7) plus a road match with mountain rival Appalachian State (Nov. 3).
