University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Saturday, November 1
Asheville, NC
2 PM
UNC Asheville
7-6-2, 3-3-1
1
vs
2
Gardner-Webb
12-2-2, 5-1-1
1
2
F
Gardner-Webb
0
2
2
UNC Asheville
1
0
1
Halftime Lead Slips Away for Men's Soccer Against Gardner-Webb
11.01.2025 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville Men's Soccer saw a halftime lead slip away in a 2-1 loss to Gardner-Webb in the regular season finale at Greenwood Field on Saturday (Nov. 1).
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 The teams started out conservative on offense before the play did open up, with Gardner-Webb outshooting Asheville 12-6 in the opening frame. One misplay would lead to the first goal of the match, when Lucca Barros played a ball that on one bounce reached the Gardner-Webb goal box. A Gardner-Webb defender attempted to corral the ball and play it back to their keeper, before Arnor Hardarson pounced on the opportunity and stashed it into the back of the net on one touch for his fourth of the season to give Asheville a 1-0 lead.
Despite being outshot and edged on corner kicks 3-1 in the half, Asheville led 1-0 at the break.
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Gardner-Webb came out firing on offense in the second half, but saw plenty of shots miss the target through the first 20 minutes of the half. The Runnin' Bulldogs would then score two goals in less than three minutes to storm back and take the lead for good. Samson Kpardeh scored his eighth of the season from Jaylen Orr in the 74th minute, before adding to his day with his ninth of the season in the 76th minute off an assist from Felipe Moreira.
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Asheville totaled nine shots in the match, including four on target to go along with two corner kicks. Hardarson and Rinta Takagi each had two shots to pace the offense, while Charlie Wood, Aysa Hamid, Rodrigo Mendes, Louis Beckett and Jack Steel each had one shot in the match. Barros (7-6-2) made a career-high eight saves between the pipes. Â
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The Bulldogs (7-6-2, 3-3-1 Big South Conference) are back in action this Wednesday (Nov. 5) for the opening round of the Big South Conference championship. More details on the upcoming match will be available later. Â
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 The teams started out conservative on offense before the play did open up, with Gardner-Webb outshooting Asheville 12-6 in the opening frame. One misplay would lead to the first goal of the match, when Lucca Barros played a ball that on one bounce reached the Gardner-Webb goal box. A Gardner-Webb defender attempted to corral the ball and play it back to their keeper, before Arnor Hardarson pounced on the opportunity and stashed it into the back of the net on one touch for his fourth of the season to give Asheville a 1-0 lead.
34' | One touch from Arnor gives us the lead! 🇮🇸#ALLinAVL pic.twitter.com/3VdrpwI9xP
— Asheville Men's Soccer (@UNCAvlMSoccer) November 1, 2025
Despite being outshot and edged on corner kicks 3-1 in the half, Asheville led 1-0 at the break.
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Gardner-Webb came out firing on offense in the second half, but saw plenty of shots miss the target through the first 20 minutes of the half. The Runnin' Bulldogs would then score two goals in less than three minutes to storm back and take the lead for good. Samson Kpardeh scored his eighth of the season from Jaylen Orr in the 74th minute, before adding to his day with his ninth of the season in the 76th minute off an assist from Felipe Moreira.
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Asheville totaled nine shots in the match, including four on target to go along with two corner kicks. Hardarson and Rinta Takagi each had two shots to pace the offense, while Charlie Wood, Aysa Hamid, Rodrigo Mendes, Louis Beckett and Jack Steel each had one shot in the match. Barros (7-6-2) made a career-high eight saves between the pipes. Â
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The Bulldogs (7-6-2, 3-3-1 Big South Conference) are back in action this Wednesday (Nov. 5) for the opening round of the Big South Conference championship. More details on the upcoming match will be available later. Â
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Team Stats
GWU
AVL
Goals
2
1
Shots
21
9
Shots on Goal
10
4
Saves
3
8
Corners
4
2
Fouls
10
15
Scoring Plays
Arnor Hardarson (4)
GOAL by AVL Hardarson, Arnor.
33:47
Samson Kpardeh (8)
Assisted By: Jaylen Orr
GOAL by GWU Kpardeh, Samson Assist by Orr, Jaylen.
73:06
Samson Kpardeh (8)
Assisted By: Filipe Moreira
GOAL by GWU Kpardeh, Samson Assist by Moreira, Filipe.
75:56
Game Leaders
Shots
2
SOG
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Shots
2
SOG
0
Goals
0
Assists
0
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
mid
Shots
1
SOG
1
Goals
0
Assists
0
Players Mentioned
GK
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's SoccerF
/ Men's Soccer
F
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
/ Men's Soccer
M
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