University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
1-1-0, 0-0-0
Georgia Southern
0-2-0, 0-0-0
Pitts-Eckersall tallies a hat trick as Bulldogs down Georgia Southern, 5-3
08.28.2022 | Men's Soccer
Pitts-Eckersall's performance on Sunday was not only stellar for a freshman but one of the more impressive showings by a Bulldog in recent memory. The last time a Bulldog scored three goals or more in a match was back in 2002 when Mike Kachan tied the program record for goals in a single contest with four goals against Warren Wilson.
"The staff is extremely pleased with our boys' response today on the quick turnaround," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mick Giordano. "It's always a great day when we get a win at Greenwood as well as score five goals. Also, congrats to Sam. First career hat trick apart of the program and to do it on his second game is beyond impressive! He had wonderful assists to him, but his finishes today were calm and composed."Freshman Sam Pitts-Eckersall is the 🎩 TRICK HERO!
— Big South Conference (@BigSouthSports) August 28, 2022
His 3️⃣ goals led @UNCAvlMSoccer to a 5-3 win over Georgia Southern! #BigSouthMSOC⚽️ pic.twitter.com/4kFl7p2UY0
The team's five-goal effort on Sunday was also impressive. The last time the Bulldogs scored five goals in a match was in 2012 when they blanked Brevard, 5-0, to open that campaign.
Pitts-Eckersall jumpstarted the Bulldog offense by netting the team's first two goals in the ninth and 23rd minute. Coming off the bench, Sam Presser netted his first of the season and his first of his collegiate career.
Georgia Southern bounced back with a goal from Bill Okumu and benefited from an own-goal marker mistakenly knocked in by the Bulldogs to make it 3-2 Asheville at the halftime break.
Jake Kemhadjian extended the Asheville's lead back to two in the 60th minute with his first goal of 2022. The Eagles, however, did not go away, however as they added another goal to make it a one-score game with about 13 minutes to go in regulation.
Pitts-Eckersall proved to have one more goal in him on the day as he netted his third of the day to put some separation between the Eagles and Bulldogs. With his third goal, Pitts-Eckersall made the score 5-3 Asheville, which proved to be the final score.
"Loads of praise for the work the staff did in a busy few days," Giordano added. "The assistants got the boys recovered and energized for a huge day. As well, massive performance by the group. Looking at the data afterward, we covered an enormous amount of ground today. Three different goal scorers, five different players with assists - that's true team goals for the day! Georgia Southern is an extremely well-coached team from one of the best coaches in the college game. We earned the three points today purely from out mentality and work rate which is another milestone accomplishment we focus on daily."
Asheville will remain home for its next match with hopes of getting a winning streak started. The Bulldogs will host East Tennessee State on Friday in non-conference action at Greenwood Field. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+.
Team Stats
Sam Pitts-Eckersall (3)
Assisted By: A.J. Devivo , Dylan Thompson
GOAL by AVL Pitts-Eckersall, Sam Assist by Devivo, A.J. and Thompson, Dylan.
08:01
Sam Pitts-Eckersall (3)
Assisted By: Conor Behan , Dylan Thompson
GOAL by AVL Pitts-Eckersall, Sam Assist by Behan, Conor and Thompson, Dylan.
22:26
Sam Presser (1)
Assisted By: Conor Behan
GOAL by AVL Presser, Sam Assist by Behan, Conor.
29:10
Samuel Odame (1)
Assisted By: Bill Okumu
GOAL by GSU Odame, Samuel Assist by Okumu, Bill.
32:03
0
GOAL by GSU TEAM.
39:50
Jake Kemhadjian (1)
Assisted By: Aidan Whitlock
GOAL by AVL Kemhadjian, Jake Assist by Whitlock, Aidan.
59:22
Zachary Martin (1)
GOAL by GSU Martin, Zachary.
77:20
Sam Pitts-Eckersall (3)
Assisted By: Stewart Patnaud
GOAL by AVL Pitts-Eckersall, Sam Assist by Patnaud, Stewart.
78:42
