University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Friday, August 23
Asheville, NC
2:30 PM
UNC Asheville
2
vs
1
Marshall (Exhibition)
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
Pair of Rossetti Goals Lead Bulldogs to Exhibition Victory
08.23.2019 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – After a pair of schedule changes and a venue change to account for impending inclement weather, UNC Asheville's men's soccer team defeated Marshall in its final preseason exhibition, 2-1, Friday afternoon, behind two goals from freshman Andrew Rossetti.
Originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Greenwood Soccer Field, the Bulldogs final home exhibition moved to 1 p.m. at John B Lewis Soccer Complex to keep the home playing surface in good shape for the women's season opener in the evening and avoid the threat of rain. Head coach Mathes Mennell was quick to thank Asheville-Buncombe Youth Soccer Association and the Highland Football Club for their assistance in moving venues and ensuring the match got played.
The exhibition featured three 30-minute periods in place of the traditional 45-minute halves.
Marshall took the majority of the possession early in the match, but the Bulldogs defense prevented the Thundering Herd from getting dangerous looks on goal. Rossetti broke the deadlock 25 minutes into the match after collecting a loose ball off a corner kick and depositing a strike in the right side of the netting.
The score remained 1-0 through the second 30-minute period, but not three minutes into the third period, Marshall's Joao Souza found the back of the net to tie the game after a strong run down the left side of the pitch.
The final 15 minutes featured a flurry of action, including the deciding goal. Senior Frank Morales put in a great service to the box off a free kick near midfield, and Rossetti found himself in the right place yet again to put his team back on top with a perfectly timed header.
Marshall would respond with some dangerous attacks of its own, as Souza had a chance to tie the game, but goalkeeper Jarrett Payne made a great diving stop. Payne would come up big again in the waning minutes, easily saving a free kick from just outside the box.
With their exhibition season now completed, the Bulldogs' focus turns to the start of the regular season as they travel to Annapolis, Maryland, to take on the Midshipmen of Navy, Friday, August 30.
Mennell's Musings
On the challenge of the schedule change the day of the match:
"For our guys, they literally found out at 9:45 this morning that instead of playing at 2:30, they were going to play at 1 p.m. That changes your whole day. That changes your academic schedule. I thought they responded very, very well. For us to change that and for them to face that adversity was good."
On fixing mistakes from Monday's exhibition against East Tennessee:
"I think ETSU is a very good team. I think Marshall is a very, very good team, and scheduling them was by design. I think ETSU is going to win a lot of games, and I think Marshall is going to be very, very good in Conference USA. They have a lot of ways to hurt teams, and I think we did a really good job of absorbing some pressure. Set pieces are a very important part of the game, and for us to take advantage of set pieces is great. To go through the exhibition and come out on top is positive, but much like I talked about the result against ETSU that I wasn't going to get wound up that we lost, I wasn't going to get wound up in the other direction that we won. We did a lot of positive things. We still have a lot to work on, which is to be expected at this point in the season. I think we did address some of the things from ETSU, but then Marshall – because they're a different opponent – highlighted some other areas of development."
On Andrew Rossetti in preseason:
"Every player that we're fortunate to get to be a part of UNC Asheville, we all think they can play. He's certainly shown a knack the last three preseason games of putting himself in spots to be successful. That's exactly what you want. Also, too, recognizing those goals happen because he got great service. Frank Morales hit a wonderful ball in. Rossetti did exactly what he should do: get to the back post and give us a chance to score a goal. He did a great job, and Frank did a great job on the free kick. And then you look at how did we earn the free kick. There's a whole bunch of positive stuff that led to that moment."
Originally scheduled for 3:30 p.m. at Greenwood Soccer Field, the Bulldogs final home exhibition moved to 1 p.m. at John B Lewis Soccer Complex to keep the home playing surface in good shape for the women's season opener in the evening and avoid the threat of rain. Head coach Mathes Mennell was quick to thank Asheville-Buncombe Youth Soccer Association and the Highland Football Club for their assistance in moving venues and ensuring the match got played.
The exhibition featured three 30-minute periods in place of the traditional 45-minute halves.
Marshall took the majority of the possession early in the match, but the Bulldogs defense prevented the Thundering Herd from getting dangerous looks on goal. Rossetti broke the deadlock 25 minutes into the match after collecting a loose ball off a corner kick and depositing a strike in the right side of the netting.
The score remained 1-0 through the second 30-minute period, but not three minutes into the third period, Marshall's Joao Souza found the back of the net to tie the game after a strong run down the left side of the pitch.
The final 15 minutes featured a flurry of action, including the deciding goal. Senior Frank Morales put in a great service to the box off a free kick near midfield, and Rossetti found himself in the right place yet again to put his team back on top with a perfectly timed header.
Marshall would respond with some dangerous attacks of its own, as Souza had a chance to tie the game, but goalkeeper Jarrett Payne made a great diving stop. Payne would come up big again in the waning minutes, easily saving a free kick from just outside the box.
With their exhibition season now completed, the Bulldogs' focus turns to the start of the regular season as they travel to Annapolis, Maryland, to take on the Midshipmen of Navy, Friday, August 30.
Mennell's Musings
On the challenge of the schedule change the day of the match:
"For our guys, they literally found out at 9:45 this morning that instead of playing at 2:30, they were going to play at 1 p.m. That changes your whole day. That changes your academic schedule. I thought they responded very, very well. For us to change that and for them to face that adversity was good."
On fixing mistakes from Monday's exhibition against East Tennessee:
"I think ETSU is a very good team. I think Marshall is a very, very good team, and scheduling them was by design. I think ETSU is going to win a lot of games, and I think Marshall is going to be very, very good in Conference USA. They have a lot of ways to hurt teams, and I think we did a really good job of absorbing some pressure. Set pieces are a very important part of the game, and for us to take advantage of set pieces is great. To go through the exhibition and come out on top is positive, but much like I talked about the result against ETSU that I wasn't going to get wound up that we lost, I wasn't going to get wound up in the other direction that we won. We did a lot of positive things. We still have a lot to work on, which is to be expected at this point in the season. I think we did address some of the things from ETSU, but then Marshall – because they're a different opponent – highlighted some other areas of development."
On Andrew Rossetti in preseason:
"Every player that we're fortunate to get to be a part of UNC Asheville, we all think they can play. He's certainly shown a knack the last three preseason games of putting himself in spots to be successful. That's exactly what you want. Also, too, recognizing those goals happen because he got great service. Frank Morales hit a wonderful ball in. Rossetti did exactly what he should do: get to the back post and give us a chance to score a goal. He did a great job, and Frank did a great job on the free kick. And then you look at how did we earn the free kick. There's a whole bunch of positive stuff that led to that moment."
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