Asheville Men's Soccer Squad Recaps Their Season

ASHEVILLE, N.C.--The UNC Asheville men's soccer team played for a championship on the final day of the regular season in 2016.

The Bulldogs didn't win that game and their season ended in the quarterfinals of the Big South Tournament with a loss to Longwood at home a few days later but this program is making dramatic progress under second year coach Mathes Mennell.

Asheville's final record in 2016 was 6-13-0 as the Bulldogs played a vigorous non-conference schedule. The non-conference schedule prepared Mennnell's men for league action as the Blue & White finished with a 5-3-0 record and third place finish in the BSC standings.

It was the most league wins for Asheville since the 2001 team captured the regular-season crown with a 5-2-0 mark. The third-place ranking is the highest for the Bulldog program since that 2001 campaign.

Mennell was pleased with the improvement of his second Bulldog squad.

"The 2016 season was a really challenging one but in the best of ways. We played a schedule that we hoped would be very strenuous to our group," stated Mennell. "We played teams that employed a variety of playing styles from a wide range of conferences. We played teams from the ACC, the CAA, the SoCon, the ASUN, the Sun Belt, and the Atlantic 10 with the mindset that we would be prepared for Big South play."

"Obviously, we did not win as many games as we would have liked but there is no doubt that we learned a lot of valuable lessons that we were able to put to very good use in our conference matches," added Mennell. "Our form in Big South play was a direct result and quite honestly, the fact we were able to play in our last regular season match with a chance to win the Big South regular season proves that we are on the right track."

There were plenty of highlights for the Bulldogs in 2016. Asheville's lone non-conference win was an impressive victory as it rallied past UNC Greensboro, 2-1 at Greenwood. The win was the first for the Bulldogs over a tradition-rich Spartan program.

Asheville earned a dramatic 4-3 triumph at Liberty in league action, giving the Dogs their first win over the Flames in Lynchburg since 2002. In addition, there was a great homecoming win over BSC rival Winthrop, 1-0 along with a clutch 2-1 road triumph at Presbyterian College, late in the season. The Bulldogs' first league win was a dramatic 3-2 overtime win over Longwood.

Asheville posted five BSC wins, all by one goal. It set up a meeting with the Highlanders on the final day of the season for first place. An experienced and nationally-ranked Radford squad would win, 3-0 but it was easily the most meaningful game played at Greenwood Field in a long time.

While Mennell is happy with the progress, he is by no means close to being satisfied.

"We, however, have a lot of room to improve and these areas for growth were also highlighted by our schedule," explained Mathes.

"I am beyond excited about the direction of the program and the players continued improvement. We are graduating a fine group of seniors and we will miss them very much," added Mennell. "They have done so much for UNC Asheville and can take great pride that they were instrumental in laying the foundation for what is happening here with our men's soccer program."

There were individual honors for Bulldog players in 2016. Senior forward Zach Joens enjoyed a sensational senior season and turned into one of the most dangerous forwards in the Big South. He scored a team-high eight goals with three being game-winners. His 19 points placed him seventh in the Big South conference. The Asheville native earned second team All-Conference honors.

Junior defender Zach Compton was named second team all-conference and placed on the league's all-academic team. Compton led a Bulldog defense that helped preserve six one-goal victories. He also scored twice and had two assists. Compton was also recognized for his work in the classroom as he was name to the Big South All-Academic Team.

Rounding out the honors for the Bulldogs was the selection of junior midfielder Andy Lawrence to the 2016 Big South All-Tournament team.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Asheville Men's Soccer Squad Recaps Their Season

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