University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Bulldogs Close Out Exhibition Season with Narrow Loss to ETSU
08.19.2017 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The exhibition season maybe did not go exactly as planned in terms of wins for UNC Asheville men's soccer, but the Bulldogs did learn a ton about their team over the past few days.
"Overall, I'm pleased with where we are," UNC Asheville men's soccer head coach Mathes Mennell said after UNC Asheville's narrow 1-0 loss to ETSU on Saturday, Aug. 19, at Greenwood Field. "I think we still have work to do, but I think in terms of the way we played today, we played attacking football and tried to ask questions, so I think that's probably a fair result. But at the end of the day, exhibition wins don't mean a whole lot and exhibition losses, we can't get too down about them because there is a lot of positive and a lot of great lessons for us and as long as we take those lessons and learn from them we'll be great."
The two teams played close for most of the match, but it would be ETSU that would net the lone goal of the contest in the 71st-minute when Jordan Broadwater opportunistically took advantage of a loose ball just outside of the 18-yard box that found its way just past Bulldog goalkeeper Tyler Moore.
UNC Asheville controlled a great deal of the play in the final minutes of the match and looked like they would even things up in the 85th-minute when Zack Compton lined up for a penalty kick. Compton hit his spot kick well, but ETSU goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland guessed right and made a nice diving save to his right to secure the victory for the Bucs.
"Full credit to ETSU," Mennell said. "The goalkeeper made a great save on a set piece."
ETSU out-shot UNC Asheville, 15-7, overall in the contest. Both teams had five corner kicks opportunities in the match.
BULLDOG BITES
Noticeable Improvement
After UNC Asheville's exhibition loss to Wright State on Thursday, Aug. 17, Mennell said that his team would get back to work and be ready for ETSU.
Despite the narrow loss to ETSU, Mennell felt the effort from his squad two days later against the reigning Southern Conference regular season champions was much better.
"I thought we did a good job staying injury free for the most part," Mennell said. "We played a lot of guys. It was night and day in terms of our performance. We were better attacking, but obviously that's still got to be an area of focus for us, and also defending set pieces. The nice part is that systemically that's not hard to work on. It's just putting the work in and being mindful."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will next start their regular season with three straight road games with the opener set for a 7 p.m. kickoff against Marshall of Conference USA in Huntington, W.Va. on Friday, Aug. 25.
"Overall and coming through the exhibition season injury free we're on the right track, but we've got a really good game to open the season on Friday at Marshall," Mennell said. "It's a beautiful stadium. They're very good and obviously some of their results have been quite good in the exhibition season. It should be an excellent opportunity for us."
"Overall, I'm pleased with where we are," UNC Asheville men's soccer head coach Mathes Mennell said after UNC Asheville's narrow 1-0 loss to ETSU on Saturday, Aug. 19, at Greenwood Field. "I think we still have work to do, but I think in terms of the way we played today, we played attacking football and tried to ask questions, so I think that's probably a fair result. But at the end of the day, exhibition wins don't mean a whole lot and exhibition losses, we can't get too down about them because there is a lot of positive and a lot of great lessons for us and as long as we take those lessons and learn from them we'll be great."
The two teams played close for most of the match, but it would be ETSU that would net the lone goal of the contest in the 71st-minute when Jordan Broadwater opportunistically took advantage of a loose ball just outside of the 18-yard box that found its way just past Bulldog goalkeeper Tyler Moore.
UNC Asheville controlled a great deal of the play in the final minutes of the match and looked like they would even things up in the 85th-minute when Zack Compton lined up for a penalty kick. Compton hit his spot kick well, but ETSU goalkeeper Jonny Sutherland guessed right and made a nice diving save to his right to secure the victory for the Bucs.
"Full credit to ETSU," Mennell said. "The goalkeeper made a great save on a set piece."
ETSU out-shot UNC Asheville, 15-7, overall in the contest. Both teams had five corner kicks opportunities in the match.
BULLDOG BITES
Noticeable Improvement
After UNC Asheville's exhibition loss to Wright State on Thursday, Aug. 17, Mennell said that his team would get back to work and be ready for ETSU.
Despite the narrow loss to ETSU, Mennell felt the effort from his squad two days later against the reigning Southern Conference regular season champions was much better.
"I thought we did a good job staying injury free for the most part," Mennell said. "We played a lot of guys. It was night and day in terms of our performance. We were better attacking, but obviously that's still got to be an area of focus for us, and also defending set pieces. The nice part is that systemically that's not hard to work on. It's just putting the work in and being mindful."
Up Next
The Bulldogs will next start their regular season with three straight road games with the opener set for a 7 p.m. kickoff against Marshall of Conference USA in Huntington, W.Va. on Friday, Aug. 25.
"Overall and coming through the exhibition season injury free we're on the right track, but we've got a really good game to open the season on Friday at Marshall," Mennell said. "It's a beautiful stadium. They're very good and obviously some of their results have been quite good in the exhibition season. It should be an excellent opportunity for us."
Players Mentioned
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