University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women's Soccer Hosts Coastal Carolina on Thursday
10.12.2011 | Women's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville women's soccer team returns to Greenwood Field Thursday afternoon as the Bulldogs begin a two-game stretch against Big South Conference opponents this weekend. Asheville entertains Coastal Carolina Thursday at 3 p.m., followed by a match with Charleston Southern Saturday at Noon. Both matches will be video-streamed (weather permitting) at www.uncabulldogs.com
Asheville (3-10-0, 2-2-0 BSC) has battled back from a 0-7 start to go 3-3 in its last six matches and become extremely competitive. The young Bulldogs are looking to make the Big South Tournament for the first time in three years and need as many BSC wins as they can to make that happen.
Michelle Demko's team lost in its last outing as they fell at Campbell, 2-1 last Thursday night. The Camels are in second place in the Big South Conference and Asheville was in the match for 90 minutes.
The Bulldogs host a Coastal Carolina team (1-11-1, 1-3-0) that is celebrating its first win of the season after a decisive 3-0 victory over VMI on Saturday. The Chanticleers have been in just about every match they've played this season. They have posted four straight wins over the Bulldogs, including a 5-1 decision last season.
"We're anxious to play after having a week off," commented Demko. "We've shown a lot of improvement since the start of the year, but we want that to continue this week. Both Coastal Carolina and Charleston Southern will be tough challenges for us."
Freshman forward Kaitlyn Eckert leads Asheville in scoring with five goals and 13 points. She has scored at least one goal in three of the last four matches. Sophomore forward Amanda Knapp is next with four goals and 11 points.
BULLDOG NOTES
UNC Asheville already has two more wins (3) than it did in all of last season (1).
The Bulldogs have won two consecutive matches at home.
Asheville has out-scored its opponents 11-2 in the three matches it has won.
Three of Kaitlyn Eckert's goals have come in Big South Conference matches.
UNC Asheville has not beaten Coastal Carolina since the 2005 season. The Chanticleers are 4-0-1 against Asheville since a 4-0 Bulldog win in 2005.
Freshman goalkeeper Heather Muller has played every minute of every match this year. She leads the Big South in saves per game with a 6.08 average.
The Bulldogs lead the Big South in shots taken with 198 and a 15.23 per game average.
