The UNC Asheville men’s soccer team gave fans good reason to be excited about the regular season, defeating the Catawba Indians in an exhibition match yesterday by a 3-1 margin. The Bulldogs took the lead in the 23rd minute at Greenwood Field, when Bryan George put a brilliant touch on a Colton Paschall corner kick, and never looked back. After taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime, Asheville came out on the offensive. Zachary Odum scored on a well-placed strike from the top of the box in the 55th minute, assisted by David Parra and Weston Brown. Paschall then found the net in the 62nd minute, slipping the ball between two defenders after beating the keeper. Branden Lassen was credited with the assist. The Indians lone goal came on an Andrew Landry penalty kick in the 63rd minute, following a dubious foul in the box.
The Bulldog sophomores displayed experience beyond their years during the match. Paschall and George led a relentless attack, and narrowly missed several great scoring opportunities due to offsides calls. Standout goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen shut out Catawba during his 58 minutes of work although he was only seriously tested twice, thanks to a strong performance from the back line. On the other hand, this year’s freshman class displayed tremendous potential in its first appearance. Odum and Parra played big minutes off the bench, hooking up for a goal and keeping the pressure on the Catawba backs. Alex Martin-Smith started for the Bulldogs and played a key role in the stout defensive effort.
The Bulldogs did not look totally polished in the effort, of course, but the match provided invaluable game experience. Most of the errors in the game can be attributed to imperfect timing and miscommunication. These are the sorts of difficulties that we can expect to improve dramatically over the season, and the many outstanding individual efforts in the game show how good the young Bulldogs can be when they gel as a team. The match was also remarkably physical for a friendly, with 16 fouls against the Indians and 10 against the Bulldogs. Catawba defender Matt Halton was booked with a yellow card in the 52nd minute for an illegal tackle.
UNC Asheville faces a daunting task on September 1st, when they travel to Chapel Hill to open the regular season against North Carolina. The Tar Heels are ranked second in the nation, and have already defeated Georgetown and VCU in exhibition matches. The Bulldogs will then return to Greenwood Field on September 4th for their home opener, against the Tornados of Brevard College.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment