University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Thursday, August 18
Spartanburg, SC
7 pm
UNC Asheville
0-0-1, 0-0-0
2
at
2
Wofford
0-0-1, 0-0-0
1st half1
2nd half2
FinalF
UNC Asheville
0
2
2
Wofford
1
1
2
Bulldogs and Wofford play to a 2-2 tie to open the season
08.18.2022 | Women's Soccer
SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The UNC Asheville women's soccer team rallied from an early 1-0 deficit in its season-opening match at Wofford on Thursday to take a lead but ultimately the contest ended in a 2-2 tie.
Wofford did not wait long to net its first goal of the new season as Ashley Grant found the back of the net a little over two minutes into the contest.
In the minutes that followed, Asheville created a few scoring chances to try and tie the score at one a piece. Unfortunately, none of those chances came through. Lindie Clark registered the first shot for the Bulldogs, but it hit the side of the net. Taylor Gardner, Asheville's leading goal scorer from last season, fired a shot wide.
After the flurry of scoring chances from Asheville, Wofford had some of their own around the midway point of the first half. The Bulldogs' defense withstood four corner kicks and three Terrier shot attempts to keep the deficit at one goal.
Asheville continued to put the pressure on the Terriers as the second half began. After not making any saves in the opening 45 minutes, Wofford's goalkeeper had to make three stops in short order to keep her team's lead. Freshman Azalea Mihailovich had two of those attempts, while Gardner had the other.
The pressure from the Bulldogs finally broke through in the 69th minute as a shot from Gardner was initially stopped but the goalkeeper couldn't hold it and the ball rolled into the net to tie the score at 1-1.
Asheville and Wofford continued to battle but ultimately Thursday's match ended in a 2-2 draw. It marks the first draw for the Bulldogs in a season opener since 2018 when they also tied the Terriers.
Next up for the Bulldogs will be their home opener Sunday when they host another Southern Conference school, VMI. Kickoff for that contest is set for 3:30 p.m. from Greenwood Field.
Wofford did not wait long to net its first goal of the new season as Ashley Grant found the back of the net a little over two minutes into the contest.
In the minutes that followed, Asheville created a few scoring chances to try and tie the score at one a piece. Unfortunately, none of those chances came through. Lindie Clark registered the first shot for the Bulldogs, but it hit the side of the net. Taylor Gardner, Asheville's leading goal scorer from last season, fired a shot wide.
After the flurry of scoring chances from Asheville, Wofford had some of their own around the midway point of the first half. The Bulldogs' defense withstood four corner kicks and three Terrier shot attempts to keep the deficit at one goal.
Asheville continued to put the pressure on the Terriers as the second half began. After not making any saves in the opening 45 minutes, Wofford's goalkeeper had to make three stops in short order to keep her team's lead. Freshman Azalea Mihailovich had two of those attempts, while Gardner had the other.
The pressure from the Bulldogs finally broke through in the 69th minute as a shot from Gardner was initially stopped but the goalkeeper couldn't hold it and the ball rolled into the net to tie the score at 1-1.
A few minutes later, the Terriers were called for a foul in the box that led to a penalty shot for Asheville. Mihailovich got the attempt and beat the Wofford keeper to give the Bulldogs their first lead of the night.GOAL!!! Taylor Gardner gets the first goal of the Bulldogs' season! 1-1 in Spartanburg!#ALLinAVL pic.twitter.com/ODkctV4iTe
— Asheville Women's Soccer (@UNCAvlWSoccer) August 19, 2022
Playing from behind for the first time in the match, Wofford turned up the pressure. A handful of scoring Terrier scoring chances did not turn into anything but a ball that snuck through the Asheville defense did as a shot attempt from Wofford's Ansley Elizalde tied the score at 2-2.Penalty kick is converted by Azalea Mihailovich and the Bulldogs pull ahead 2-1!#ALLinAVL pic.twitter.com/ZoXzvcoZqW
— Asheville Women's Soccer (@UNCAvlWSoccer) August 19, 2022
Asheville and Wofford continued to battle but ultimately Thursday's match ended in a 2-2 draw. It marks the first draw for the Bulldogs in a season opener since 2018 when they also tied the Terriers.
Next up for the Bulldogs will be their home opener Sunday when they host another Southern Conference school, VMI. Kickoff for that contest is set for 3:30 p.m. from Greenwood Field.
Team Stats
AVL
WOF
Goals
2
2
Shots
8
16
Shots on Goal
5
4
Saves
2
3
Corners
1
8
Fouls
8
6
Scoring Plays
Ashley Grant (1)
GOAL by WOF Grant, Ashley.
02:22
Taylor Gardner (1)
GOAL by AVL Gardner, Taylor.
68:54
Azalea Mihailovich
AVL Azalea Mihailovich PENALTY KICK GOAL.
72:21
Ansley Elizalde (1)
Assisted By: Kylie Morris
GOAL by WOF Elizalde, Ansley Assist by Morris, Kylie.
86:29
Game Leaders
Shots
3
SOG
3
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
3
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
M
/ Women's SoccerF
/ Women's SoccerM
/ Women's SoccerHighlights || Women's Soccer || UNC Asheville vs High Point
Monday, October 30
Highlights || Women's Soccer || UNC Asheville at Charleston Southern
Monday, October 23
Highlights || Women's Soccer || UNC Asheville vs Winthrop
Monday, October 23
Highlights || Women's Soccer || UNC Asheville at Radford
Monday, October 09