Men's Soccer Ends Scoreless Streak; Can't Stop USC Upstate

The Bulldogs suffered a disappointing loss this afternoon at rainy Greenwood Field at the hands of USC Upstate. The Spartans opened up the match with an offensive barrage that led to two goals in the first 25 minutes. John Kadane scored the first goal of the match in the 6th minute, collecting a loose ball in the box and driving it home. Timo Foerster, the Spartans’ assists leader provided the insurance in the 26th minute with a 10 yard strike. Upstate controlled the tempo in the first half, and went into the break with a 6-2 shot advantage and 3-1 edge in corner kicks. The Bulldogs upped their intensity level noticeably in the second half, but were unable to convert on several scoring opportunities. Finally, in the 86th minute, Asheville was able to bring its 388 minute goal-less drought to an end. Redshirt freshman Eli Morrow scored his first career goal on an unassisted 15 yard shot that ricocheted off the left post and into the net. The Bulldogs continued their attack but were limited by a muddy field and strong goaltending by Upstate’s Pat Regna. Asheville held the statistical advantage in the second half, outshooting Upstate 7-2, and taking 6 corners to the Spartans’ 3.

Asheville coach Steve Cornish called the result “disappointing,” and expressed concerns about the effort level from his young team in the first half. The loss places the Bulldogs (1-4-1) firmly in 9th place in the Big South as they draw near the end of a harrowing non-conference slate. UNC Asheville will have the opportunity to break back into the win column over the weekend. The Bulldogs travel to Nashville for the Hyatt Place Select Invitational tournament, on the campus of Lipscomb University. Asheville will open the tournament against the hosting Bisons (2-2-1) on Friday evening, then square off against another Atlantic Sun foe in Belmont (0-3-1) on Sunday afternoon. The matches can be viewed live online through the Atlantic Sun’s IPTV service, at https://asun.neulion.com/asc/console.jsp.