University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
UNC Asheville
1-2-0, 0-0-0
East Tennessee State
3-0-0, 0-0-0
Bulldogs drop match late in a hard-fought contest vs. ETSU
09.02.2022 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - A goal from East Tennessee State in the 89th minute propelled it past the UNC Asheville men's soccer team Friday night at Greenwood Field by a score of 3-2.  Brendan Herb led Asheville netting both of the team's goals in the contest. With the loss, the Bulldogs see their record dip to 1-2 on the 2022 season.Â
"I want to say how proud we are of our group tonight," said UNC Asheville Head Coach Mick Giordano afterward. "Battling through adversity and different things out of our control was a new challenge for us, which we met head on with togetherness and good resilience. The staff, the bench and everyone that played brought a higher standard and level of energy than we have seen thus far."
Friday's match started with ETSU going on the offensive, putting up nine shots on goal and controlling the ball for a majority of the first 20 minutes. In the 24th minute Asheville got their first opportunity to score after a yellow card was called in ETSU's box, to which Herb took full advantage, putting the Bulldogs up 1-0.
GOOOOAL!!!!! Brendan Herb with the PK to put the Bulldogs up 1-0.#ALLinAVL pic.twitter.com/etlQ03qs3K
— Asheville Men's Soccer (@UNCAvlMSoccer) September 2, 2022
Ten minutes later, the Bucs scored a goal of their own off a steal deep in Asheville territory tying the score, 1-1.Â
The Bulldogs and the Bucs played a much more even half to begin as both teams played aggressively, looking to break the tie. ETSU scored again in the 67th minute off a corner kick that ricocheted to their leading scorer, Kieren Richards, to put the Bucs up 2-1. Herb bailed the Bulldogs out again, blasting a free kick form just outside the box to tie it up, 2-2.
Brendan with the brace!! He ties the game at 2-2.#ALLinAVL pic.twitter.com/lskwQWgQjC
— Asheville Men's Soccer (@UNCAvlMSoccer) September 3, 2022
With the score tied once again, it looked like Friday's match may end in a 2-2 draw. However, in the 89th minute ETSU's Tarik Pannholzer slipped past and scored the eventual game-winning goal.Â
"Tonight was a fantastic game from our group. I really do think we played exceptionally well," Giordano added. That is an extremely dangerous and talented ETSU team that will compete for a conference championship. They are aggressive, dedicated and extremely well-coached. That being said, we need to continue to clean up small details, continue our brand of football and press forward with our process."
Next up for Asheville will be a trip to No. 1 Clemson on Labor Day in a non-conference bout scheduled for 6 p.m. on ACC Network Extra.
Â
Team Stats
Brendan Herb (1)
AVL Brendan Herb PENALTY KICK GOAL.
23:06
Sebastian Reventlow (1)
GOAL by ETS Reventlow, Sebastian.
33:52
Kieran Richards (4)
Assisted By: Dominic Foster , Sebastian Reventlow
GOAL by ETS Richards, Kieran Assist by Foster, Dominic and Reventlow, Sebastian.
66:35
Brendan Herb (1)
GOAL by AVL Herb, Brendan.
74:25
Tarik Pannholzer (2)
Assisted By: Sebastian Reventlow
GOAL by ETS Pannholzer, Tarik Assist by Reventlow, Sebastian.
88:45
