University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics

Men's Soccer Falls to USC Upstate in Big South Conference Quarterfinals
11.05.2025 | Men's Soccer
ASHEVILLE, N.C. - UNC Asheville fell to USC Upstate in the Big South Conference Quarterfinals at Greenwood Field on Wednesday (Nov. 5) by a score of 5-1.
The teams felt each other out offensively through the first 20 minutes, before the Spartans were able to strike in the 21st minute for the first goal of the match. Vitalis Takawira Jr. fed a ball to the edge of the box for Oskar Kaufmann, who blasted home his eighth of the season to put the Spartans up 1-0. The teams continued to trade runs over the next 20 minutes, before Rodrigo Mendes played a ball forward that upon video review was called an Upstate handball in the box. Mendes stepped to the dot and put home his second penalty kick goal of the season for his fifth overall on the year. The teams went to the half tied 1-1.
Upstate responded in the second half by turning up the offensive pressure, before a ball played forward was knocked down in the Asheville box and upon review awarded a penalty kick to the Spartans. Kaufmann stepped to the dot and put home his second of the night for a 2-1 Spartan lead in the 50th minute. The teams traded runs and chances into the final 20 minutes, before a scramble in the box saw Caeden Reynolds play a ball through a crowd that yet again found the feet of Kaufmann. Kaufmann then scored his 10th of the season on the hat trick to put USC Upstate up 3-1. Less than four minutes later, Kaufman would score his fourth of the match on a strike to the top right corner off assists from Oscar Kelly and Takawira. Just over a minute later in the 76th minute, Kelly got himself into the goal column off an assist from Takawira as the Spartans brought the match to its final score.
Upstate outshot Asheville 12-11 in the contest, with each team registering five shots on frame in the match. Asheville edged Upstate 7-4 in corner kicks in the match. Mendes paced the Bulldogs with a career-high seven shots in the match, while Lennart Granzow had two shots in the match to match his career-high. Dylan Kwasnik and Brede Fiksdal each registered one shot in the contest. Lucca Barros (7-7-2) played all 90 minutes between the pipes for Asheville.
This concludes the 2025 UNC Asheville Men's Soccer season.
The teams felt each other out offensively through the first 20 minutes, before the Spartans were able to strike in the 21st minute for the first goal of the match. Vitalis Takawira Jr. fed a ball to the edge of the box for Oskar Kaufmann, who blasted home his eighth of the season to put the Spartans up 1-0. The teams continued to trade runs over the next 20 minutes, before Rodrigo Mendes played a ball forward that upon video review was called an Upstate handball in the box. Mendes stepped to the dot and put home his second penalty kick goal of the season for his fifth overall on the year. The teams went to the half tied 1-1.
Upstate responded in the second half by turning up the offensive pressure, before a ball played forward was knocked down in the Asheville box and upon review awarded a penalty kick to the Spartans. Kaufmann stepped to the dot and put home his second of the night for a 2-1 Spartan lead in the 50th minute. The teams traded runs and chances into the final 20 minutes, before a scramble in the box saw Caeden Reynolds play a ball through a crowd that yet again found the feet of Kaufmann. Kaufmann then scored his 10th of the season on the hat trick to put USC Upstate up 3-1. Less than four minutes later, Kaufman would score his fourth of the match on a strike to the top right corner off assists from Oscar Kelly and Takawira. Just over a minute later in the 76th minute, Kelly got himself into the goal column off an assist from Takawira as the Spartans brought the match to its final score.
Upstate outshot Asheville 12-11 in the contest, with each team registering five shots on frame in the match. Asheville edged Upstate 7-4 in corner kicks in the match. Mendes paced the Bulldogs with a career-high seven shots in the match, while Lennart Granzow had two shots in the match to match his career-high. Dylan Kwasnik and Brede Fiksdal each registered one shot in the contest. Lucca Barros (7-7-2) played all 90 minutes between the pipes for Asheville.
This concludes the 2025 UNC Asheville Men's Soccer season.
Team Stats
UPST
AVL
Goals
5
1
Shots
12
11
Shots on Goal
5
5
Saves
4
0
Corners
4
7
Fouls
16
7
Scoring Plays

Oskar Kaufmann (10)
Assisted By: Vitalis Takawira Jr
GOAL by UPST Kaufmann, Oskar Assist by Takawira Jr, Vitalis.
20:05

Rodrigo Mendes (4)
AVL Rodrigo Mendes PENALTY KICK GOAL.
40:20

Oskar Kaufmann (10)
UPST Oskar Kaufmann PENALTY KICK GOAL.
49:12

Oskar Kaufmann (10)
Assisted By: Caedon Reynolds
GOAL by UPST Kaufmann, Oskar Assist by Reynolds, Caedon.
70:54

Oskar Kaufmann (10)
Assisted By: Oscar Kelly , Vitalis Takawira Jr
GOAL by UPST Kaufmann, Oskar Assist by Kelly, Oscar and Takawira Jr, Vitalis.
74:32

Oscar Kelly (4)
Assisted By: Vitalis Takawira Jr
GOAL by UPST Kelly, Oscar Assist by Takawira Jr, Vitalis.
75:26
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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