University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Payne Named to Big South All-Freshman Team; Adams Earns All-Academic Honors
11.08.2019 | Men's Soccer
CHARLOTTE – Freshman goalkeeper Jarrett Payne earned recognition on the Big South Conference's All-Freshman Team and Honorable-Mention team, and senior Kyle Adams earned recognition on the All-Academic Team, the league announced, Friday.
Despite missing the final five games of the season, Payne still led the conference in saves with 82 – 19 more than second place on the list. His save percentage of .774 also led the conference. Though he only played in 12 matches – all starts – Payne finished fifth in the country in total saves.
Payne had moments of brilliance all season, but his most memorable performance might have come against reigning Sun Belt champions Georgia State, when he saved 17 shots in the double-overtime draw, including a full-extension diving stop on a penalty kick in the first half.
For his efforts in that match and a home-opening victory against VMI, Payne earned Big South Conference Freshman of the Week accolades. He followed up the 17-save performance with 14 saves four days later at Furman.
As conference play began, Payne put together the first two clean sheets of his career as the Bulldogs recorded shutouts on the road against USC Upstate and Winthrop during the first two Saturdays of league competition.
Adams, who was voted team captain, earned recognition on the Big South's All-Academic team, joining current volunteer assistant Joe LaCasto who earned the distinction the previous two seasons, as the most recent recipients of the honor for the Bulldogs.
A stalwart on the back line, Adams started every match and led the team with a career-best 1,505 minutes played. In addition to his duties on defense, Adams also helped out in the attack, leading the team with three assists while also scoring his second-career goal against High Point.
Adams currently possesses a 3.48 grade-point average as biology major.
"We're very proud to have Jarrett Payne and Kyle Adams receive All-Big South honors," head coach Mathes Mennell said. "When your players are recognized by the opponents as being worthy of All-Conference honors, that is always a good thing. It means that their level of play was not only positively impactful for our group, but that our opponents took notice as well."
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Despite missing the final five games of the season, Payne still led the conference in saves with 82 – 19 more than second place on the list. His save percentage of .774 also led the conference. Though he only played in 12 matches – all starts – Payne finished fifth in the country in total saves.
Payne had moments of brilliance all season, but his most memorable performance might have come against reigning Sun Belt champions Georgia State, when he saved 17 shots in the double-overtime draw, including a full-extension diving stop on a penalty kick in the first half.
For his efforts in that match and a home-opening victory against VMI, Payne earned Big South Conference Freshman of the Week accolades. He followed up the 17-save performance with 14 saves four days later at Furman.
As conference play began, Payne put together the first two clean sheets of his career as the Bulldogs recorded shutouts on the road against USC Upstate and Winthrop during the first two Saturdays of league competition.
Adams, who was voted team captain, earned recognition on the Big South's All-Academic team, joining current volunteer assistant Joe LaCasto who earned the distinction the previous two seasons, as the most recent recipients of the honor for the Bulldogs.
A stalwart on the back line, Adams started every match and led the team with a career-best 1,505 minutes played. In addition to his duties on defense, Adams also helped out in the attack, leading the team with three assists while also scoring his second-career goal against High Point.
Adams currently possesses a 3.48 grade-point average as biology major.
"We're very proud to have Jarrett Payne and Kyle Adams receive All-Big South honors," head coach Mathes Mennell said. "When your players are recognized by the opponents as being worthy of All-Conference honors, that is always a good thing. It means that their level of play was not only positively impactful for our group, but that our opponents took notice as well."
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Players Mentioned
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Monday, November 06
Monday, November 06
Monday, October 30