University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Bulldogs Open League Play by Hosting High Point for Homecoming Match on Saturday
09.22.2017 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The UNC Asheville men's soccer team will play host to its annual Homecoming match by welcoming High Point to Greenwood Field on Saturday, Sept. 23.
The Big South Conference opener for the Bulldogs is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
"The nice thing is the High Point match is at home and certainly we'll have a very pro-Bulldog crowd with it being Homecoming and the doubleheader with the women's soccer team," UNC Asheville men's soccer head coach Mathes Mennell said. "It should provide us a really friendly atmosphere to try and get out on the front foot. When you start Big South play all of the games are going to be tough, and certainly we have one of the toughest right off the bat, so it should be a really good indication of where we are in terms of what we want to achieve, which is to be the last one standing in the Big South Conference and the reality is if we truly endeavor to do that, High Point is going to be one of those teams that we have to prove we are up to that challenge to accomplish that goal."
BULLDOG BITES
Last Time Out
The UNC Asheville men's soccer team (1-6-0) emphatically picked up its first win of the 2017 season by easily dispatching of Wofford, 2-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Greenwood Field.
The Bulldogs controlled the run of play for pretty much the entire match and probably could have added even more goals to their total as they had numerous quality chances in the first and second half.
UNC Asheville scored the first goal in its win over Wofford in the 15th-minute when senior Ben Chapal assisted sophomore Luiz Felipe Dantas.
Chapal would get one of his own minutes later when in the 27th-minute fellow Asheville native Jackson Allen beautifully sent a through ball toward Chapal, who would do the rest and slot the ball into the back of the net for what would be the final goal of the night.
UNC Asheville overall out-shot the Terriers, 19-13, in the match. The Bulldogs had 10 of their 19 shots in the match on frame. UNC Asheville also held a slight 5-4 advantage in corner kick opportunities.
Scouting the Panthers
High Point makes its way to Greenwood Field with a record of 2-3-2 on the 2017 season. The Panthers have played in three straight double overtime matches with High Point narrowly missing upsetting No. 4 Wake Forest earlier this week in a 1-0 double overtime loss on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Quotable
"Big South play is going to be competitive, and I think the coaches got it right in the preseason poll as Radford and High Point have played very well in their non-conference games and obviously we have High Point coming in here for Homecoming this weekend. High Point gave Wake Forest, who is one of the better teams in the country, all they could handle and they also gave Duke all they could handle. They've proven that they're a very good team on the road. They also went to a very tough place to play in UNCG and got a result, so High Point is very good and very well-coached. Coach O'Keeffe does a really good job and they're going to be very athletic and very sharp in transition and do a great job of really putting teams under pressure. We have our hands full" – Head Coach Mathes Mennell
Excitement Surrounding the Bulldogs
"I'm excited about it. I've been excited about the match. I'm excited about our team and the way they've played and I was really excited for us finally to put together a complete performance against Wofford where I felt like we were the better side from the opening whistle. And we may have been a little unfortunate to not score more goals, but college soccer is a funny sport and sometimes the better team does not always win. That's been the case for us a couple of times this year and we've got to make sure we come ready to play because High Point will be ready to go from the opening whistle and we're truly aware of the challenge that they present. I'm really excited that this game is in front of our home crowd." – Head Coach Mathes Mennell
Up Next
UNC Asheville men's soccer will next travel to Raleigh, N.C. to take on No. 21 NC State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Dail Soccer Field. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
The Big South Conference opener for the Bulldogs is scheduled for a 6 p.m. kickoff.
"The nice thing is the High Point match is at home and certainly we'll have a very pro-Bulldog crowd with it being Homecoming and the doubleheader with the women's soccer team," UNC Asheville men's soccer head coach Mathes Mennell said. "It should provide us a really friendly atmosphere to try and get out on the front foot. When you start Big South play all of the games are going to be tough, and certainly we have one of the toughest right off the bat, so it should be a really good indication of where we are in terms of what we want to achieve, which is to be the last one standing in the Big South Conference and the reality is if we truly endeavor to do that, High Point is going to be one of those teams that we have to prove we are up to that challenge to accomplish that goal."
BULLDOG BITES
Last Time Out
The UNC Asheville men's soccer team (1-6-0) emphatically picked up its first win of the 2017 season by easily dispatching of Wofford, 2-0, on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at Greenwood Field.
The Bulldogs controlled the run of play for pretty much the entire match and probably could have added even more goals to their total as they had numerous quality chances in the first and second half.
UNC Asheville scored the first goal in its win over Wofford in the 15th-minute when senior Ben Chapal assisted sophomore Luiz Felipe Dantas.
Chapal would get one of his own minutes later when in the 27th-minute fellow Asheville native Jackson Allen beautifully sent a through ball toward Chapal, who would do the rest and slot the ball into the back of the net for what would be the final goal of the night.
UNC Asheville overall out-shot the Terriers, 19-13, in the match. The Bulldogs had 10 of their 19 shots in the match on frame. UNC Asheville also held a slight 5-4 advantage in corner kick opportunities.
Scouting the Panthers
High Point makes its way to Greenwood Field with a record of 2-3-2 on the 2017 season. The Panthers have played in three straight double overtime matches with High Point narrowly missing upsetting No. 4 Wake Forest earlier this week in a 1-0 double overtime loss on Tuesday, Sept. 19, in Winston-Salem, N.C.
Quotable
"Big South play is going to be competitive, and I think the coaches got it right in the preseason poll as Radford and High Point have played very well in their non-conference games and obviously we have High Point coming in here for Homecoming this weekend. High Point gave Wake Forest, who is one of the better teams in the country, all they could handle and they also gave Duke all they could handle. They've proven that they're a very good team on the road. They also went to a very tough place to play in UNCG and got a result, so High Point is very good and very well-coached. Coach O'Keeffe does a really good job and they're going to be very athletic and very sharp in transition and do a great job of really putting teams under pressure. We have our hands full" – Head Coach Mathes Mennell
Excitement Surrounding the Bulldogs
"I'm excited about it. I've been excited about the match. I'm excited about our team and the way they've played and I was really excited for us finally to put together a complete performance against Wofford where I felt like we were the better side from the opening whistle. And we may have been a little unfortunate to not score more goals, but college soccer is a funny sport and sometimes the better team does not always win. That's been the case for us a couple of times this year and we've got to make sure we come ready to play because High Point will be ready to go from the opening whistle and we're truly aware of the challenge that they present. I'm really excited that this game is in front of our home crowd." – Head Coach Mathes Mennell
Up Next
UNC Asheville men's soccer will next travel to Raleigh, N.C. to take on No. 21 NC State at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Dail Soccer Field. The match will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Players Mentioned
Monday, November 13
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