University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Women's Soccer Heads to South Carolina State
10.20.2015 | Women's Soccer
THE MATCHUP
Teams: Asheville (10-6-0, 4-4-0 BSC)
South Carolina State (1-9-1, Independent)
Location: Oliver C. Dawson Stadium/Orangeburg, S.C.
Time: Wednesday, Oct. 21, 6:00 p.m. ET
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville women's soccer team steps out of Big South Conference play for its midweek matchup, traveling to Orangeburg, S.C., to take on South Carolina State Wednesday evening. Kickoff from Dawson Stadium is scheduled for 6 p.m. ET and a free live stream of the match will be available on YouTube.
The Bulldogs are looking to bounce back following a pair of conference losses to High Point and Coastal Carolina last week. With just two conference matches remaining (Oct. 24 vs. Longwood, Oct. 27 at Gardner-Webb), Asheville is sixth in the Big South standings while High Point and Longwood are just ahead with 13 and 14 points, respectively.
South Carolina State won its season-opening contest against Southern University but has not added to the win column in each of the last 10 games, losing nine times and tying once. SCSU is 0-3 against Big South schools this season (Campbell, Presbyterian, Winthrop).
Wednesday's matchup will also be a “pink” game for SCSU.
ASHEVILLE NOTES
- Sophomore Caroline Houser is on pace to set a new school record for assists in a season as her current total of nine helpers is tied for most in a single season with Kaitlyn Eckert (2012). Houser's nine assists paces the conference and is top 10 in the nation. The 2014 Big South Conference Freshman of the Year has 13 career assists, tied for fifth-most in school history.
- The Bulldogs have shown to possess one of the most dynamic offenses in the Big South Conference, pacing the conference in goals (30) and points (86) while also ranking second in shots (255, 15.9 per game) and assists (26, 1.63 per game). The offensive attack has been sparked by a pair of underclassmen, as sophomore Caroline Houser's 21 points are tops on the team (6 G, 9 A) while freshman Justine James' six goals are tied for most on the team.
- Asheville has posted an impressive 6-1 (.857) record in games decided by one goal this season.
- Two Bulldogs have earned Big South Conference Player of the Week honors this season. Freshman goalkeeper Lily Brown was named the Big South Conference Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 12, her first career award. Brown also becomes the first Bulldog to win Defensive Player of the Week honors since the award's inception in 2010. Junior Paige Trent was named the conference's Attacking Player of the Week on Aug. 24. Four players under fifth-year head coach Michelle Demko have received a weekly award while 28 Bulldogs since 1993 have garnered weekly conference accolades.
QUOTABLE
“With this being the last non-conference game of the season, we would like to use this opportunity to sharpen up some areas that we've worked on in training. South Carolina State poses some threats athletically that we will have to be aware of. We're excited for the opportunity to get back on track after two tough conference games last week." - Fifth-year head Coach Michelle Demko
UP NEXT
- The Bulldogs return home to Greenwood Field Saturday, Oct. 24, to host Longwood at 4:30 p.m. The women's soccer match will be the first leg of an Asheville soccer Saturday doubleheader as the men's team hosts Liberty at 7 p.m.
