University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Fall Flashback – 2006 UNC Asheville women’s soccer
12.02.2020 | Women's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - The first women's team at UNC Asheville to ever qualify for the NCAA Tournament came during a memorable weekend in Myrtle Beach.
Michele Cornish's 2006 women's soccer team was not her best team. She had great teams in 2004 and 2005 that won Big South Conference regular-season titles but came up short in those conference tournaments.
But during a remarkable tournament run, the Bulldogs found a way to go where no Asheville women's team had gone before, and that was to the NCAA Tournament.
Not much was expected from the 2006 Bulldog squad. Asheville had graduated a lot of talent from the previous season. Two Big South Players of the Year – Hilary McKay and Emily Langill – were on that team along with a senior class that had led the Bulldogs to three trips to the Big South title game, two regular-season titles, and 35 wins over the last three seasons.
But there was still some talent back. Senior midfielder Ashleigh Carter had been a starter from day one of her freshman career. Senior defender Sara Pahl was one of the top defenders in the Big South. Sophomore striker Robyn Marshall had proved to be a talented goal scorer in her freshman campaign.
But there were big question marks, especially in goal. All-Conference goalkeeper Mich Mattos had graduated. Who would step up to be the Bulldogs' starter as a goalkeeper?
Sophomore Shanna Brown had learned under Mattos and seemed ready to be the Bulldogs stopper in the back. She had played well in the first three matches of the season, leading Asheville to two wins and a shutout.
But disaster struck before the first conference game of the year. During warm-ups, Brown turned awkwardly and tore her ACL 10 minutes before the match was to start.
Freshman Veronica Lazar suddenly had to put gloves on and start the match. She hadn't played yet in 2006, and her first opponent would be a high-powered Radford squad.
But the Bulldogs of 2006 still had a championship core on their club. A determined defense kept Radford at bay. When Lazar needed to make a save, she made the save. Busha scored twice, and Asheville had its first Big South Conference win, 2-0.
Cornish's club was not the dominant force it had been the previous three seasons but was still quite competitive. After a 1-0 loss at Coastal Carolina, the Bulldogs won their final three matches of the season, all on the road to enter the Big South Tournament with a winning streak and an 8-6-2 record. Asheville went 4-2-2 in league play and earned a fifth seed in the tournament.
The Bulldogs headed to Coastal Carolina, site of the 2006 tournament, with some confidence. They would face fourth-seeded Birmingham-Southern, a team that had beaten the Bulldogs during the year.
Asheville's defense came to play during this tournament, and it showed as the Panthers didn't come close to scoring. The match went to overtime before Busha tallied on a header with three minutes left in the second overtime period to send the Bulldogs to the semifinals with a 1-0 victory.
Cornish's club would take on regular-season champ Winthrop. The Lady Eagles had earned their first-ever victory over Asheville in the regular-season with a 1-0 win. They propelled that to their first regular-season championship.
Winthrop would score early in the match, and the Eagles felt they were headed to the championship match for the first time in school history.
The Bulldogs dominated from the start in the second half and quickly tied the match when their pressure forced a Winthrop mistake in the back and an own goal to tie the match at 1-1.
It appeared that over time would be needed again, but Asheville wanted to win this match in regulation. Busha sent a perfect pass to junior forward Joy Haynes. She used her speed to get behind the defense and put the ball in the back of the net, and suddenly the Bulldogs had a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes to go.
The Bulldogs' defense did the rest, and Asheville was back in the championship game for the fourth time in five years.
The only thing the women's soccer program hadn't done yet was win the Big South tournament title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. They had won in 1995, but there was no automatic bid then. In 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2005, the Bulldogs had gotten to the title game but hadn't been able to win the championship match.
Standing in the way was Liberty, the defending champ. The Lady Flames had shocked the Bulldogs a year earlier in the title game, 3-0. Liberty was anxious to go back to the NCAA Tournament.
Once again, UNC Asheville's defense played tough, shutting down another high-powered attack. The teams battled through 90 minutes of scoreless soccer. They went to overtime, and neither team could score either.
The match would head to penalty kicks. The Bulldogs had been here before and lost a nightmarish 3-2 decision to High Point three years earlier.
But Asheville was ready to write a different script this season. The teams traded goals on their first two shots. Busha put the Bulldogs ahead 3-2 before Liberty had its first miss.
The Blue & White missed its first PK allowing Liberty a chance to tie. But Lazar, the freshman back-up goalkeeper who wasn't supposed to play in 2006, made the biggest save of her young career.
Up stepped freshman midfielder Meghan Bradham. The rookie took her time and put the ball into the back of the net, giving the Bulldogs the win and the Big South Championship.
Lazar made six saves in the match and earned All-Tournament honors. Senior midfielder Ashleigh Carter was brilliant throughout the tournament and was named MVP. Juliana Duncan, Kate Barrow, and Sara Pahl joined the duo on the All-Tournament team.
"Our expectations were a lot less coming into this tournament compared to years past. But our girls were just as determined and confident that we could get the job done," said Cornish afterwards. "This is a great championship for our program."
Cornish's program would be the first women's team at UNC Asheville and second overall to advance to the NCAA Tournament. They would draw top-seed and eventual national champion UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Bulldogs were pretty beat and battered when they faced the powerful Tar Heels and fell, 7-0.
But that mattered little as a determined Asheville squad had found a way to win a championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
There were so many heroes in the Bulldogs march to a championship, starting with Lazar. She began the year learning as a freshman on the bench and became a second-team All-Conference performer. Carter was the team captain and, from her midfield spot, kept the Bulldogs moving forward all year.
Michele Cornish's 2006 women's soccer team was not her best team. She had great teams in 2004 and 2005 that won Big South Conference regular-season titles but came up short in those conference tournaments.
But during a remarkable tournament run, the Bulldogs found a way to go where no Asheville women's team had gone before, and that was to the NCAA Tournament.
Not much was expected from the 2006 Bulldog squad. Asheville had graduated a lot of talent from the previous season. Two Big South Players of the Year – Hilary McKay and Emily Langill – were on that team along with a senior class that had led the Bulldogs to three trips to the Big South title game, two regular-season titles, and 35 wins over the last three seasons.
But there was still some talent back. Senior midfielder Ashleigh Carter had been a starter from day one of her freshman career. Senior defender Sara Pahl was one of the top defenders in the Big South. Sophomore striker Robyn Marshall had proved to be a talented goal scorer in her freshman campaign.
But there were big question marks, especially in goal. All-Conference goalkeeper Mich Mattos had graduated. Who would step up to be the Bulldogs' starter as a goalkeeper?
Sophomore Shanna Brown had learned under Mattos and seemed ready to be the Bulldogs stopper in the back. She had played well in the first three matches of the season, leading Asheville to two wins and a shutout.
But disaster struck before the first conference game of the year. During warm-ups, Brown turned awkwardly and tore her ACL 10 minutes before the match was to start.
Freshman Veronica Lazar suddenly had to put gloves on and start the match. She hadn't played yet in 2006, and her first opponent would be a high-powered Radford squad.
But the Bulldogs of 2006 still had a championship core on their club. A determined defense kept Radford at bay. When Lazar needed to make a save, she made the save. Busha scored twice, and Asheville had its first Big South Conference win, 2-0.
Cornish's club was not the dominant force it had been the previous three seasons but was still quite competitive. After a 1-0 loss at Coastal Carolina, the Bulldogs won their final three matches of the season, all on the road to enter the Big South Tournament with a winning streak and an 8-6-2 record. Asheville went 4-2-2 in league play and earned a fifth seed in the tournament.
The Bulldogs headed to Coastal Carolina, site of the 2006 tournament, with some confidence. They would face fourth-seeded Birmingham-Southern, a team that had beaten the Bulldogs during the year.
Asheville's defense came to play during this tournament, and it showed as the Panthers didn't come close to scoring. The match went to overtime before Busha tallied on a header with three minutes left in the second overtime period to send the Bulldogs to the semifinals with a 1-0 victory.
Cornish's club would take on regular-season champ Winthrop. The Lady Eagles had earned their first-ever victory over Asheville in the regular-season with a 1-0 win. They propelled that to their first regular-season championship.
Winthrop would score early in the match, and the Eagles felt they were headed to the championship match for the first time in school history.
The Bulldogs dominated from the start in the second half and quickly tied the match when their pressure forced a Winthrop mistake in the back and an own goal to tie the match at 1-1.
It appeared that over time would be needed again, but Asheville wanted to win this match in regulation. Busha sent a perfect pass to junior forward Joy Haynes. She used her speed to get behind the defense and put the ball in the back of the net, and suddenly the Bulldogs had a 2-1 lead with less than five minutes to go.
The Bulldogs' defense did the rest, and Asheville was back in the championship game for the fourth time in five years.
The only thing the women's soccer program hadn't done yet was win the Big South tournament title and advance to the NCAA Tournament. They had won in 1995, but there was no automatic bid then. In 1998, 2002, 2003, and 2005, the Bulldogs had gotten to the title game but hadn't been able to win the championship match.
Standing in the way was Liberty, the defending champ. The Lady Flames had shocked the Bulldogs a year earlier in the title game, 3-0. Liberty was anxious to go back to the NCAA Tournament.
Once again, UNC Asheville's defense played tough, shutting down another high-powered attack. The teams battled through 90 minutes of scoreless soccer. They went to overtime, and neither team could score either.
The match would head to penalty kicks. The Bulldogs had been here before and lost a nightmarish 3-2 decision to High Point three years earlier.
But Asheville was ready to write a different script this season. The teams traded goals on their first two shots. Busha put the Bulldogs ahead 3-2 before Liberty had its first miss.
The Blue & White missed its first PK allowing Liberty a chance to tie. But Lazar, the freshman back-up goalkeeper who wasn't supposed to play in 2006, made the biggest save of her young career.
Up stepped freshman midfielder Meghan Bradham. The rookie took her time and put the ball into the back of the net, giving the Bulldogs the win and the Big South Championship.
Lazar made six saves in the match and earned All-Tournament honors. Senior midfielder Ashleigh Carter was brilliant throughout the tournament and was named MVP. Juliana Duncan, Kate Barrow, and Sara Pahl joined the duo on the All-Tournament team.
"Our expectations were a lot less coming into this tournament compared to years past. But our girls were just as determined and confident that we could get the job done," said Cornish afterwards. "This is a great championship for our program."
Cornish's program would be the first women's team at UNC Asheville and second overall to advance to the NCAA Tournament. They would draw top-seed and eventual national champion UNC-Chapel Hill.
The Bulldogs were pretty beat and battered when they faced the powerful Tar Heels and fell, 7-0.
But that mattered little as a determined Asheville squad had found a way to win a championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament.
There were so many heroes in the Bulldogs march to a championship, starting with Lazar. She began the year learning as a freshman on the bench and became a second-team All-Conference performer. Carter was the team captain and, from her midfield spot, kept the Bulldogs moving forward all year.
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