University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Wednesday, September 11
Greenville, SC
7:00 PM
UNC Asheville
1-2-1
1
at
2
Furman
3-1-1
1
2
F
UNC Asheville
1
0
1
Furman
1
1
2
Photo by: Adrian Etheridge
UNC Asheville Falls in Heartbreaker at Furman
09.11.2019 | Men's Soccer
GREENVILLE, S.C. – For a while, it looked like UNC Asheville's men's soccer team might escape Furman with a draw, Wednesday night.
Then with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, it looked like the Bulldogs might beat the Paladins (3-1-1) for the first time in series history, but Izaiah Vignali's shot ended up agonizingly off-target, bouncing off the crossbar.
Then the unthinkable: Furman netted the go-ahead goal with just 11 seconds remaining in regulation, essentially ending a match that seemed destined for overtime.
The match started off shaky for the Bulldogs, as Furman's Shaun-Chris Joash found the back of the net just one minute into the contest. After that, freshman goalkeeper Jarrett Payne returned to his phenom ways, recording 14 saves one match after coming up with 17.
The Bulldogs found their footing offensively, and their go-to goal-scorer in the early part of the season, junior Tyson Hichman, put one past the keeper for his third goal of the year. Dino Dziergas assisted on the score in the 14th minute, picking up his team-leading second helper of the season.
After recording only three shots in the first half, the Bulldogs put more pressure on the Paladins in the second half with 10 shots and recorded all three of their corner kicks in the second frame. The Paladins put some pressure of their own, forcing Payne into eight saves in the second half.
"Obviously we're gutted with the result," head coach Mathes Mennell said. "I think our second-half performance, we deserved the chances that we had to win the game. Soccer's a cruel game and we made a couple errors and they punished us for it. That's just part of this game sometimes that those things happen.
"I thought our guys had a fantastic work rate. I thought we played very well against a very good Furman team. It's disappointing to lose, but I saw a lot of positives, and I thought there were some good performances. Quite frankly, the guys' approach to the second half and their effort throughout the game were something to be proud of."
UNC Asheville returns to action this weekend in a 5 p.m., Saturday, contest at Evansville. The Purple Aces are also 1-2-1 on the season and are coming off a tie against Lipscomb, Tuesday.
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Then with two-and-a-half minutes remaining in the game, it looked like the Bulldogs might beat the Paladins (3-1-1) for the first time in series history, but Izaiah Vignali's shot ended up agonizingly off-target, bouncing off the crossbar.
Then the unthinkable: Furman netted the go-ahead goal with just 11 seconds remaining in regulation, essentially ending a match that seemed destined for overtime.
The match started off shaky for the Bulldogs, as Furman's Shaun-Chris Joash found the back of the net just one minute into the contest. After that, freshman goalkeeper Jarrett Payne returned to his phenom ways, recording 14 saves one match after coming up with 17.
The Bulldogs found their footing offensively, and their go-to goal-scorer in the early part of the season, junior Tyson Hichman, put one past the keeper for his third goal of the year. Dino Dziergas assisted on the score in the 14th minute, picking up his team-leading second helper of the season.
After recording only three shots in the first half, the Bulldogs put more pressure on the Paladins in the second half with 10 shots and recorded all three of their corner kicks in the second frame. The Paladins put some pressure of their own, forcing Payne into eight saves in the second half.
"Obviously we're gutted with the result," head coach Mathes Mennell said. "I think our second-half performance, we deserved the chances that we had to win the game. Soccer's a cruel game and we made a couple errors and they punished us for it. That's just part of this game sometimes that those things happen.
"I thought our guys had a fantastic work rate. I thought we played very well against a very good Furman team. It's disappointing to lose, but I saw a lot of positives, and I thought there were some good performances. Quite frankly, the guys' approach to the second half and their effort throughout the game were something to be proud of."
UNC Asheville returns to action this weekend in a 5 p.m., Saturday, contest at Evansville. The Purple Aces are also 1-2-1 on the season and are coming off a tie against Lipscomb, Tuesday.
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Team Stats
UNCA
FUR
Goals
1
2
Shots
13
27
Shots on Goal
5
16
Saves
14
4
Corners
3
5
Fouls
16
6
Scoring Plays
Shaun-Chris Joash (2)
Assisted By: Emery May
shot to right off low cross from right
1:01
Tyson Hichman (3)
Assisted By: Dino Dziergas
GOAL by UNCA Tyson Hichman, Assist by Dino Dziergas, goal number 3 for season.
13:02
Emery May (2)
Assisted By: Miles Fenton , Conor Sloan
GOAL by FUR Emery May, Assist by Miles Fenton and Conor Sloan, goal number 2 for season.
89:49
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
1
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
F
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
GK
/ Men's Soccer
MF
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