The Bulldogs are in for their toughest test of the young season tomorrow when they face the Paladins of Furman University at beautiful Greenwood Field. Asheville (2-1) comes into the match on a hot streak thanks to back-to-back shutout victories over Wofford and East Tennessee State. Southern Conference-leading Furman (4-0) is coming off a dominant performance at the Jacksonville University Invitational tournament over the weekend.
The Paladins are led by two lethal sophomore strikers. Martha Hall was just named the Southern Conference Player of the Week for her performance in the tournament, and leads the SoCon in goal scoring with six goals over just four games. Hall recorded her first career hat trick on Sunday, with all three Furman goals in a 3-1 win against North Florida to close out the tournament. The week before, it was Alexa Jones who earned SoCon Player of the Week honors. Jones has five goals on the season, and is second in the SoCon behind her teammate in goals scored. Other standouts include upperclassman midfielders Lucy Martin and Chelsea McKie, both of whom were named to the Jacksonville All-Tournament team, along with Hall and sophomore goalkeeper Jessica Smith.
The Bulldogs are no strangers to Furman – the squads have faced off each of the last three years, with Furman coming out on top each time. Asheville’s best chance against the Paladins came last year in Greenville. Then-freshman Leilani Halkiotis scored her first career goal (and Asheville’s first of the season) in the 82nd minute to force overtime, but Furman would shut the door in the 96th minute to take the match 2-1. The Bulldogs last defeated the Paladins in 1995.
Tomorrow, however, UNC Asheville will be prepared to rise to the occasion. The Bulldogs have an answer for Hall and Jones in the top-notch defense of seniors Megan Bradham and Keri Skelton. The tandem goaltending effort of senior Veronica Lazar and freshman Megan Dent has also been highly effective. Dent has not allowed a goal in 135 minutes of work, and Lazar has made eight saves with only one goal allowed (also in 135 minutes). On the offensive end, the Bulldogs may be developing a one-two punch of their own with senior McKenna Stockhausen and freshman Chloe McCleary-Small, who scored the game-winning goals against Wofford and ETSU, respectively.
The match will be one of the biggest on the UNC Asheville campus all year, so we encourage all Bulldog fans to come to Greenwood Field tomorrow and enjoy what promises to be an intense battle between two elite soccer programs.
Prediction: UNC Asheville 2, Furman 1
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