University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Men's Soccer Travels to Tournament at James Madison
09.01.2011 | Men's Soccer
Matt Kern's club opened the 2011 season with a hard-fought 1-1 tie vs. Mercer last Saturday afternoon at home. The Bears dominated much of the first half and the early part of the season before the Bulldogs controlled the latter part of the match and the two overtime periods. Branden Lassen scored Asheville's lone goal with an assist from goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen. The senior goalkeeper made six saves in the match.
Asheville's match with St. Bonaventure will be the first time the Bulldogs have ever faced the Bonnies. St. Bonaventure is 0-2 on the season with losses to Buffalo and Niagara.
"We don't know that much about St. Bonaventure except it's a program that has been improving over the years," commented Kern. "We just want to play as well as we can and hopefully the goals and victories will come."
Kern liked the way his team played as the match went on against Mercer.
"Mercer has a very good team, and we came close to winning the match," explained Kern. "We were a little overwhelmed early but as the match went on we got better and better. Our guys need to start playing better from the start but overall it was a good effort last Saturday."
The Bulldogs face a strong James Madison club on Sunday. The Dukes have not played yet as their match with Richmond was postponed last weekend due to Hurricane Irene. This will be the first time the teams have played since 1989 when JMU posted a 4-0 victory.
"James Madison has an excellent team. They are well-coached and we'll have our work cut out for us," declared Kern.
Asheville has a busy weekend and will get right back to playing when the Bulldogs host Brevard College on Tuesday at 4 p.m.
