University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Soccer to Face #3 UNC Chapel Hill Tonight
10.04.2011 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The UNC Asheville men's soccer team will face a pretty tough challenge tonight when the Bulldogs travel to #3-ranked UNC Chapel Hill for a date with the powerful Tar Heels at Fetzer Field starting at 7 p.m.
Asheville (2-5-2, 1-1-0 BSC) will arrive in Chapel Hill after a good week of soccer. The Bulldogs tied Appalachian State 1-1 last Tuesday on the road and then knocked off Big South rival Radford on the road on Saturday, 1-0 in overtime. Both ASU and Radford had been ranked regionally.
Tonight, Asheville faces a nationally-ranked North Carolina (8-1-1) squad that is unbeaten at home over the past two seasons. Second-year coach Matt Kern says his Bulldogs can't wait to play the Tar Heels.
"Our guys are so excited for this match," commented Kern. "We're really looking forward to going down and competing against one of the best teams in the country. This is a North Carolina team that could easily win the national championship.
"We're excited about playing UNC but know we have a pretty big challenge on our hands," added Kern. "North Carolina is so fast up front. They bring incredible pressure on you. However, this should be a great test for us as we get into the meat of our conference schedule."
The Bulldogs tied ASU last week as junior David Wood scored his first career goal early in the second half to allow Asheville to rally from a 1-0 deficit. At Radford on Saturday, Bryan Bartels scored late in the first overtime period to give the Blue & White the dramatic victory. Senior goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen was solid for Asheville between the pipes. He stopped seven shots at ASU and six at Radford to record his second shutout of the season.
The Bulldogs return to Greenwood Field on Saturday when they'll host Big South rival High Point starting at 2 p.m.
BULLDOG NOTES
UNC Asheville is 2-5-2 but four of those losses have been by just one goal.
Asheville has played just two home matches this year going 1-0-1.
The Bulldogs have played back-to-back overtime matches. Asheville has played in four overtime matches during the year.
Senior goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen has played every minute of every match this season. He is eighth nationally in saves per game with a 6.3 average. Lassi is tied for sixth nationally in total saves with 57.
Asheville has scored in eight of nine matches this season.
The Bulldogs are 0-10 all-time vs. the Tar Heels. Asheville's last win over an ACC team came on Oct. 14, 2007 when the Bulldogs edged Clemson at Greenwood Field, 2-1 in overtime.
