University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women's Soccer Opens 2011 Season at Davidson on Saturday
08.19.2011 | Women's Soccer
The match will be video-streamed at http://www.davidsonwildcats.com/showcase/#liveevents with the broadcast starting at 6:45 p.m. Live stats will be provided at http://sidearmstats.com/davidson/wsoc/.
The Bulldogs look to move on after last season's 1-16-0 record. Asheville was hit hard by injuries in 2010 plus learning a new system from head coach Michelle Demko. The second-year coach is pleased with what's she seen so far from her 2011 squad.
"It is night-and-day compared to last year at this time," explained Demko. "We have made a lot of strides since last spring but there's still plenty of work to do to get better. Unfortunately, we have some injuries to some players that we need on the field but there is more depth than we had last year."
Asheville faces a Davidson squad that had its first losing season in seven year with a 6-8-6. The Wildcats should be much better this season as they return six starters and 17 letterwinners for the 2011 season.
"Davidson has a solid program," admitted Demko. "They have a lot of experience returning. We're going to have play well in all facets of the game to have a chance at winning."
Asheville is coming off a 2-1 exhibition victory over Lees-McRae on Monday. The Bulldogs recieved goals from Amanda Dailor and Ferriss Roberts in the match. Freshman goalkeeper Heather Muller played very well for the home team.
The Wildcats lead the all-time series 8-4 but Asheville has a 3-2 record against Davidson on the road. The teams have not played since the 2004 season when the Bulldogs edged DC, 1-0 on the road. All four wins Asheville has recorded over the Wildcats have been by one goal.
Asheville returns nine starters from last year's club, including senior midfielder Leilani Halkiotis. She led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2010 with four goals, three assists and 11 points. Also returning is defender Mary Kate Tucker, who sat out last season with a knee injury. Tucker was a member of the Big South All-Freshman team in 2008 and earned second team All-Conference honors in 2009.
After Saturday's match, the Bulldogs will have eight days off before beginning a two-game homestand against teams from the Ohio Valley Conference. Asheville faces Tennessee Tech in the home opener on Saturday, Aug. 28 and then plays Eastern Kentucky on Friday, Sept. 2. Both games will be video-streamed at www.uncabulldogs.com.
