University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
1-3-3, 0-0-1
Longwood
2-4-2, 0-0-1
Two Unanswered Bulldog Goals Lift UNC Asheville to 2-2 Tie To Open Big South Play
09.19.2018 | Women's Soccer
FARMVILLE, Va. – Behind two unanswered Bulldog goals from Kyra Kandel and Gillian Oyos, the UNC Asheville women's soccer team tied, 2-2, with Longwood on Wednesday to open Big South Conference play.
BULLDOG BITES
How It Happened
Longwood opened the contest quickly, as it netted the first goal of the game in the 10th minute. Emilie Kupsov netted the goal, which was her second of the season.
The Lancers continued to attack the Bulldog net early in the first half. They struck for three shots on goal in an eight-minute span.
Longwood eventually found the back of the net again in the 33rd minute, as Emily Mothersbaugh connected with her first goal of the year.
After a stretch of back-and-forth soccer, UNC Asheville was able to cut the deficit in half in the 39th minute. After drawing a penalty kick, Kandel took the kick for Asheville, and she drilled her first goal of the season. The goal was Kandel's second career goal and the first since her freshman season in 2015.
Neither team had another opportunity to find the back of the net in the final six minutes of the first half.
Heading into halftime, Longwood held a narrow 2-1 advantage on the Bulldogs.
The Lancers continued to pepper the Asheville net, as they struck five shots in the first 11 minutes of the second half.
After a Longwood shot on goal early in the 62nd minute, the Bulldogs worked up the field, and they capitalized with the game-tying goal. Kandel fed a cross from the left side of the pitch, and Oyos finished in the top right-hand corner to knot the game at 2-2 in the 62nd minute.
Longwood started to possess the ball in the remaining minutes of the second half, but the Bulldog defense stayed stout and fended off the Lancer attack to force overtime for the third time this season.
After a quiet 10-minute golden-goal overtime period, both squads found the contest still tied at 2-2. Neither team took a shot in the 10-minute span.
In the second overtime session, the Bulldogs had several chances on the counter attack, but Longwood thwarted the Bulldog chances to keep them from scoring the golden goal.
Longwood nearly stole three points in the Big South opener, as it almost found the net with less than a minute remaining in the final overtime period. Courtney O'Malley made a fingertip save on a Longwood shot, and the ball was redirected into the crossbar. The ball rolled into the middle of the penalty box, but O'Malley pounced on the loose ball to seal the 2-2 tie.
Despite letting up a season-high two goals, O'Malley corralled 11 saves following her 17-save performance versus VMI on Sept. 7. That marks the second straight contest the Cumming, Ga. native has earned double-digits in saves.
Kandel finished the contest with a goal and an assist, which is the second time this season a Bulldog has recorded a goal and an assist in the same match. Emily Duenas earned a goal and an assist versus The Citadel on Aug. 31.
Oyos netted the game-tying goal, and that was her second career goal for the freshman.
Overall the Bulldogs put an impressive 50 percent of their shots on frame.
UNC Asheville moves to 1-3-3 on the year and 0-0-1 in league play, and Longwood goes to 2-4-2 overall and 0-0-1 in the Big South.
What's Next?
UNC Asheville women's soccer will host Big South rival Campbell as part of Alumni Weekend. The Bulldogs host the Camels at 4 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 22 in a matchup that will be streamed live on ESPN+.
The game against Campbell is the first game of a women's and men's soccer doubleheader at Greenwood Field with the men's soccer team hosting Longwood at 6 p.m. That match will also be on ESPN+.
Team Stats
KUPSOV, Emilie (2)
GOAL by LWU KUPSOV, Emilie (FIRST GOAL), goal number 2 for season.
9:33
MOTHERSBAUGH, Emily
Assisted By: ALVEY, Taylor
11 crosses through traffic in box, 20 sh
32:11
KANDEL, Kyra
AVL KANDEL, Kyra PENALTY KICK GOAL.
38:56
OYOS, Gillian
Assisted By: KANDEL, Kyra
19 fields ball in front of let, finishes
61:41
