University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Sunday, September 3
Irvine, CA
10:00 PM

UNC Asheville

0-3-0

1
at
2

UC Irvine

2-1-1

1
2
F
UNC Asheville
0
1
1
UC Irvine
0
2
2
Bulldogs Battle Anteaters Until Final Whistle in Narrow 2-1 Loss  Image
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge

Bulldogs Battle Anteaters Until Final Whistle in Narrow 2-1 Loss

09.04.2017 | Men's Soccer

IRVINE, Calif. – The Bulldogs once again battled until the final minute, but in the end UNC Asheville men's soccer would fall just short in a narrow 2-1 loss to UC Irvine at Anteater Stadium on Sunday, Sept. 3.

The two teams would play to a 0-0 tie at the halftime break, but it would be the opening minutes of the second half that ultimately settled the win for UC Irvine (2-1-1).

The Bulldogs commenced the second half with sophomore midfielder Elvis Wiredu shooting not even 30 seconds into the half. The early shot in the half would be followed up just over a minute later by the first goal of the game for the Anteaters when Giovanni Godoy scored on a side volley in the 47th-minute.

The eventual game-winner for the Anteaters came less than a minute later when Ivan Canales scored on a one-timer to give UC Irvine a 2-0 advantage in the 48th-minute.

The Bulldogs would not go away without a fight with senior midfielder Richie Lee scoring in the 72nd-minute on a header off an assist from senior midfielder Andrew Lawrence, who on a set piece found Lee's head to put the Bulldogs back in business in the match.

Asheville (0-3-0) would keep pressing for the equalizer with the Bulldogs having two really strong chances to equalize in the final minutes, but in the end the goal would not materialize for the Bulldogs, giving the Anteaters the narrow 2-1 win.

UC Irvine owned a 20-5 shot advantage over the Bulldogs in the match overall, but only four of the Anteaters' 20 shots were on frame. Asheville had three of its five shots in the match on goal.

Both teams had four corner kick opportunities in the match.

BULLDOG BITES

Quotable
"I thought our effort was great. Full credit to Irvine, who took a five-minute spell and scored two goals. When you play a good team and give them those types of chances you are playing with fire. I was really happy with our response. The goal was deserved, but I think we may have deserved another one. Overall, I think we learned a lot about ourselves during this trip to the West Coast. We've played three really good teams to start the season, and we've continued to get better each game. The nice thing now is we get the opportunity to come home and play in front of our fans and show them how much better we've become. I am very pleased once again with the way our guys fought to end the game." – Head Coach Mathes Mennell

#ThePursuit Man of the Match
For his goal and his overall efforts in the narrow loss to a quality UC Irvine side, Lee, a native of Torrance, Calif., was chosen by Mennell and the UNC Asheville coaching staff as #ThePursuit Man of the Match.

Home Opener
UNC Asheville's regular season home opener will see the Bulldogs battle the Wildcats of Davidson on Wednesday, Sept. 6. The matchup against the Atlantic 10 foe is set for a 7 p.m. kickoff at Greenwood Field.

Next Event

Davidson
L, 2-3

Sep 6 (Wed)

7:00 PM

Team Stats

AVL
UCI
Goals
1
2
Shots
5
20
Shots on Goal
3
4
Saves
2
2
Corners
4
4
Fouls
11
8
Scoring Plays
Logo

Godoy, Giovanni (2)

Assisted By: Canales, Ivan , Falck, Victor

23 feeds 25, chip to far post, 7 side vo

46:46

Logo

Canales, Ivan (2)

Assisted By: Bond-Flasza, C. , Quezada, Alvaro

low cross, 25 one-timer

47:30

Logo

LEE, Richie

Assisted By: LAWRENCE, Andrew

set piece to far post, header in

71:14

Game Leaders

Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0

Players Mentioned

MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
MF
/ Men's Soccer
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