Sixth-seeded UNC Asheville will kick off the Big South men’s soccer tournament with a rematch against third-seed Liberty. Thanks to continued rainfall from tropical storm Ida, the match has been postponed and will now begin at 5:00 Friday evening. The Bulldogs (6-11-2, 2-5-1) fell to the Flames (10-4-3, 4-2-2) in the regular season finale at Greenwood Field on Saturday. UNC Asheville claimed the lead in the first half of that match on a Connor Holzinger penalty kick, but was unable to answer second half goals from Liberty’s Darren Amoo and Chris Phillips.
Amoo should again pose the biggest challenge to the UNC Asheville defense. The sophomore from Ghana led the Big South in points (30) during the regular season, and his 13 goals are tops in the conference and sixth best in the nation. Amoo was a constant scoring threat in Saturday’s match, launching a match-high eight shots and scoring the game-tying goal in the 49th minute. Amoo’s countryman and fellow sophomore, Phillip Aseweh, ranks fourth in the Big South in points (20) and will also be a danger. Sophomore midfielder Juan Niño is second in the conference in assists (8), and supplied the helper on both Liberty goals on Saturday.
Liberty is also a force to be reckoned with on the defensive end. The Flames have allowed a conference-low (and fifth lowest in the nation) 0.51 goal against this season. Most of the credit for this feat belongs to sensational junior goalkeeper Andrew Madero, who leads the Big South with a 0.47 goals against average (fourth best in the nation) and .860 save percentage (10th in the nation).
The Bulldogs enter the Big South tournament on a five-match losing streak that has dropped them into sixth place, setting up a grueling run at the conference title. If Asheville is able to outlast Liberty on Friday, they will face the winner of second-seed High Point and seven-seed Radford on Saturday. High Point, the tournament host, finished 5-1-2 in conference play and looked very impressive in a 2-1 victory over the Bulldogs at Greenwood Field on October 3. Should Asheville make it to the conference championship match on Sunday, the Bulldogs will likely face either top-seeded Coastal Carolina or fourth-seed Winthrop. The Chanticleers finished the season undefeated in conference play, while the Eagles are the only Big South team to defeat High Point – and did so on the Panthers’ home pitch.
With his penalty kick goal against Liberty, Holzinger became Asheville’s top scorer for the regular season with 10 points (3 goals, 4 assists). Freshman striker Zachary Odum is a close second with 9 points. Lassi Hurskainen has defended the net valiantly all season. Although his goals against average of 1.64 is only fifth best in the conference, Hurskainen leads the league with 105 saves and ranks second with a .789 save percentage.
Although UNC Asheville has struggled of late, the Bulldogs have the opportunity to get back on track and make a run in the conference tournament. Although Asheville lost to the top three seeds, the Bulldogs scored in each match, and each was a one-goal decision. The entire tournament will be streamed online and can be viewed on the Big South network.
Go Bulldogs!
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