Fall Flashback with Mike Gore: Men's Soccer vs. #7 Campbell - 1988

Throughout the fall, Big South Conference and UNC Asheville Athletic Hall of Famer Mike Gore will feature a team, student-athlete or single game from seasons past. Stay tuned to uncabulldogs.com to relive or learn about the storied history of Bulldog Athletics.

The late Steve Adlard only served as UNC Asheville's head men's soccer coach for four years. He was the Bulldogs head man from 1988-91 and despite being in Asheville for only a short time, his teams produced some of the greatest wins in school history.

                Adlard passed away in the fall of 2018 from cancer. He left Asheville in January of 1992 to begin a long career as head coach at Marquette where he built an excellent program.

                Today we look at one of his biggest wins Adlard had as Bulldog head coach. It came in his first year against Campbell.

                Adlard was hired in July of 1988. He had served as the head coach at Davis & Elkins for the past two seasons and had gone to a Division II Final Four while he was there. The Bulldog soccer program was in its infancy as a Division I program and playing in the Big South was not easy. Like today, the league was known for having outstanding soccer teams and 1988 was no different.

                Campbell entered the match with a sparkling 7-0 overall record and was ranked 7^th nationally after an upset win over UNC Chapel Hill. Campbell came to Asheville after knocking off preseason BSC favorite Coastal Carolina, 1-0 on the road.

                Adlard's first Bulldog team faced a murderous early-season schedule that opened at Duke and later played at Clemson. The Dogs were 1-5-1 when they would host Campbell at Greenwood Field. At the time, the Greenwood Soccer Field was located on what is now the intramural field. Yes, the men's soccer team at the time shared the field with intramurals and the community!!!

                However, this Asheville team was improving. Despite getting hired in July, he brought in a talented freshman named Craig Kwiatkowski who would start for four years for the Bulldogs in the back.

                Campbell entered the match in a cocky mood. Several players were heard in warm-ups talking about how they would need to win the match 5 or 6-0 to have a chance to move up in the national rankings.

                But the Camels quickly found out that there would be no rout today in Asheville. Adlard's club was gaining confidence with each and every match and today it would pay off.

                The Bulldogs' defense shut down the explosive Campbell attack. When the Camels got shots, senior goalkeeper Al Winston was there to stop them. A determined Asheville defense led by John Boshart, John Heppler and Kwiatkowski played quite well on the day. Up front, Asheville was getting solid play from future Hall of Famers Pat Britz and Mark Magee. Mike Eichner seemed to win every ball near him.

                Halftime would be scoreless and Campbell was frustrated. The onslaught had not come close to happening.

                The second half would be more of the same. Campbell would control much of the play but simply had a hard time breaking through the Bulldog defense. In the middle of the second half, Asheville began to assert itself offensively.

                The Bulldogs were starting to get high-quality chances and just missed scoring on several opportunities.

                Finally, Asheville broke through thanks to the play of two freshman. Kwiatkowski sent a long ball to the Campbell goal area. Heppler, one of the tallest players on the field at 6-2, beat everyone to the ball. He headed the ball into the back of the net and with 20 minutes left in the match, the Bulldogs led 1-0.

                Campbell tried to roar back but again the Bulldogs simply outhustled the Camels and won every 50-50 ball that was in the air. There were some Campbell shots towards the goal but nothing serious. Winston was called upon to make a few saves and the senior was up to the task.

                When the clock hit zeros, Asheville had itself its first Division I victory over a nationally-ranked opponent. The Bulldogs had stunned Campbell and the college soccer world with a 1-0 victory.

                The low-key Adlard was happy afterwards but saw that there was still room for improvement.

                "The lads did a nice job overall. We should have scored another goal or two but overall, it was a good result against a ranked opponent," stated Adlard. "I think we might have made some more soccer fans today here in Asheville!!!"

                The victory gave the Dogs some confidence as they would win six of their next nine matches. With a 2-1 win at Charleston Southern late in the year, Asheville clinched a berth in the Big South Tournament that only took four teams in 1988. Something no one in the Big South saw coming that year.

                At 3-1 in league play, the Bulldogs actually had a chance to win the regular-season title with victories in their last two matches. But Asheville lost a controversial 1-0 overtime match at Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers scored a goal five minutes after play should have been stopped. The head official had just forgotten to restart his watch.

                Asheville finished in third place in the final league standings and would travel to Campbell for the Big South Tournament. They took on second-seeded Radford who was led by one of the greatest players to ever play in the Big South – Dante Washington. Dante would make the USA National Team and play in the Olympics. He would go down as arguably the most dominant player in league history.

                In the semifinals, Asheville would give the Highlanders a spirited battle but Washington scored twice in the first half as the Highlanders would win 2-0. They would win the Big South Tournament two days later with a win over Charleston Southern, who had stunned Campbell in five overtimes, 2-1 in the other semifinal match.

                The semifinal trip would mark the first of four straight trips by the Bulldogs under Adlard. And the next three would all be agonizing defeats as Asheville was just a play away from making the league championship match each of those years.

                The win over Campbell would be a big one for the Bulldog program and unfortunately it would be last for the Asheville program over the Camels in Asheville. The Dogs have won two times in Buies Creek over the years but have never been able to beat Campbell at Greenwood Field.

                However, on one sunny Saturday afternoon in 1988, the Bulldogs played giant-killer. It would not be the last time.

University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Fall Flashback with Mike Gore: Men's Soccer vs. #7 Campbell - 1988

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