University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Begin Big South Postseason at Winthrop Tuesday
11.09.2015 | Men's Soccer
THE MATCHUP
Teams: No. 8 Asheville (6-11-1, 3-6-0 BSC)
No. 1 Winthrop (7-1-1, 9-6-1 BSC)
Location: Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex, Rock Hill, S.C.
Time: 7:00 p.m.
LIVE VIDEO (BIG SOUTH NETWORK) - LIVE STATS
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's soccer team begins its march to Greensboro and the Big South Championship on Tuesday night at Winthrop as the No. 8-seeded Bulldogs take on the top-seeded Eagles. Asheville fell at Winthrop 3-2 in overtime during the regular season, but led 2-0 in the match before seeing Winthrop score the night's final three goals. Tuesday's match will be played at the Manchester Meadows Soccer Complex in Rock Hill, on a turfed field, following all of the recent rains in both the Asheville and Rock Hill areas.
NOTABLES
-In the regular season meeting, Zach Joens scored Asheville's first goal off of a free kick in the 31st minute. Joens finished with eight of Asheville's 12 total shots in the match, five of which were on goal. Joe LaCasto's lone goal of the regular season came less than one minute into the second half and pushed the Bulldog lead to what was at the time a 2-0 advantage.
-Asheville has now made the Big South Championship tournament back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2010 and 2011 seasons. The 2011 season was the last of 14 consecutive seasons Asheville was in the conference tournament. The Bulldogs lost to High Point in the quarterfinals last season.
-The matchup with Winthrop in Tuesday's quarterfinals will be the first meeting between the teams in the postseason since they met back-to-back seasons in 2003 and 2004. The 2004 meeting was a 2-1 Asheville victory in Birmingham, Alabama.
-The Bulldogs are 1-3-1 against Winthrop all-time in postseason play. The Eagles are one of five opponents that Asheville has faced more than once in Big South tournament action over the years. Asheville and Winthrop have previously squared off in 1985, 1986, 1991, 2003 and 2004.
-Asheville is 4-23-2 all-time in the Big South tournament, with all four victories coming in the quarterfinal round. The last time the Bulldogs advanced in the tournament was in 2008, defeating Gardner-Webb 4-2 before falling to Coastal Carolina in the semifinals. That 2008 win over Gardner-Webb was Asheville's last postseason victory.
QUOTABLES
“Excited to open our Big South Tournament run at Winthrop, who proved all year how good they were. I've talked about all year how competitive the Big South Conference was. I thought that we played very good at times during our regular season meeting, so this is an opportunity for our guys to play a very good soccer team in a game that has real consequences in November. That's why you play college soccer, to play in games where you win or go home. Looking forward to seeing how we have progressed since the last time we met Winthrop and see if we can't put together a good performance. I am excited for our seniors. They have done so much for this group and me personally in my first year here. To give them a chance to continue their season is an awesome thing. The group is in good spirits and has had a couple good days of training. Obviously the wet weather has caused a change in venue, but we have a very good location that is big and there is room to play. Looking forward to seeing if we can get a trip to Greensboro, which is the goal.” – head coach Mathes Mennell
