Women’s Soccer Preview: Clemson

UNC Asheville fans will have the rare opportunity to see an ACC soccer team play at Greenwood Field tomorrow, when the Bulldogs take on the Clemson Tigers at 4pm. Clemson should be a handful for the Bulldogs - the Tigers have defeated Asheville in each of nine previous match-ups between the teams, most recently an 8-0 thumping at Clemson last season. The Tigers have roared out of the gate this season, defeating Alabama 4-0 in a neutral site exhibition match, and knocking off Wofford by the same margin earlier this week. The back-to-back shutouts were the work of junior goalkeeper Paula Pritzen, who recorded the third highest save total in Clemson history last year, and will look to improve upon that performance this season. The Tigers have also assembled a potent offensive attack, with senior Molly Franklin and sophomore Tara Cort (the highest returning scorers) playing alongside talented freshman striker Maddy Elder, who notched two goals against Wofford.

The Bulldogs begin the new season with seven seniors providing experience and leadership on both ends of the field. Senior goalkeeper Veronica Lazar should continue to keep games close even against the toughest opponents (seven of the Bulldogs’ losses last year were by only one goal), and senior defenders Meagan Bradham and Keri Skelton look to shut down opposing attacks. On the offensive end, top returning scorer McKenna Stockhausen is already off to an excellent start, recording both goals in the Bulldogs 2-0 exhibition victory over Carson-Newman last week.

Both Clemson and UNC Asheville endured frustrating seasons last year. The Tigers turned in a 5-11-1 record, including only one conference victory, to finish 10th in the ACC. The preseason polls have them ending up in 10th this season as well. After finishing in 8th place in the Big South, with a 5-13-1 record, Asheville is projected to finish 8th again this year. The Bulldogs hope to exceed this forecast, thanks to a combination of experienced veterans and talented underclassmen. Most of last season’s defeats were decided by a slim margin and the team’s offseason improvements may be enough to swing the balance in similarly tight contests this year. UNC Asheville has the opportunity to make a big statement to the rest of the Big South by performing well against Clemson tomorrow. It bears mentioning that the last time an ACC team visited Greenwood field, the Bulldogs came out on top. In 1996, UNC Asheville recorded a 2-0 victory against a talented Wake Forest team that would go on to make it all the way to the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament. If the Bulldogs can manage an upset tomorrow, or at least keep things close, it will bode extremely well for the 2009 season.

The match kicks off at 4pm tomorrow and admission is free. This is a great opportunity to support the Bulldogs in what might be their toughest challenge of the season.

Go Bulldogs!

McKenna Stockhausen

Meagan Bradham

Veronica Lazar

Volleyball Ready to Open Season

On Tuesday night, UNC Asheville volleyball players dressed in their blue and white uniforms for the first time this season for the annual Blue/White scrimmage at the Justice Center. Head Coach Julie Torbett saw a number of good signs over the three games. She was impressed in particular with the performance of setters Kaitlyn McDaniel and Rachel Guinane, and of Freshman middle blocker Chelsie Kenley, who elevated her level of play during the match. The Bulldogs got a thrill from having the opportunity to play in front of a crowd from the first time this season, and faced a real challenge in their game against a team pulled from the audience - led by men's basketball standout Matt Dickey. Coach Torbett and the Bulldogs are grateful to everyone who came out on Tuesday night, and hope to see even more involvement when opponents come knocking at the Justice Center. UNC Asheville has a proud tradition of lively volleyball fans to carry on.

The Bulldogs begin regular season play tomorrow at the Hilton RTP/NCCU Tournament in Durham. The schedule will be intense, with four matches over the course of two days. The Bulldogs will battle UNC Wilmington and South Carolina State tomorrow, followed by Elon and The Citadel on Saturday. The first UNC Asheville home match will be on September 2nd, against Western Carolina (game time 7pm). This weekend's tournament will be a big test for the Bulldogs, but also an opportunity to see all of their hard work during the offseason pay off. And, if Tuesday night is any indication, the Bulldogs will be ready to rise to the occasion.

Promising Bulldogs Handle Catawba, 3-1

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.

First Championship of the Year

Guest blogging today its Everett. Now that I have officially turned the blog over to Jonathan who is doing an excellent job, I thought I would get one in this week to tell you about a little known title UNC Asheville championship won over the weekend.
As some of you know, most of the athletic department staff were, at one time, student-athletes and the desire to compete continues after your playing days are done. One outlet for this competitive drive is summer league softball.
UNC Asheville has fielded a summer league softball team of a number of years with varying degrees of success in the Asheville City League. Playing in the Hospitality B League, this year’s version thrived under pressure. In fact, the team co-captained by Faculty Athletics Rep and Chemistry professor Herman Holt and play-by-play announcer Brendan Harrington performed better in tournament play than during the regular oh-um season.
The Doggers claimed the pre-season tournament title with a perfect 4-0 record. So, season expectations were high. However a number of one-run losses during the 10 week schedule gave Asheville just a 4-6 season record and a fourth place seed in the post-season tournament.
But alas, the Dogs once again showed their grit in tournament play. Defeating Scully’s in the opening round of the tournament. The Wine Guys handed the Doggers another one-run loss in the second game to push the Dogs into the loser’s bracket but that would be final loss of the summer for this group.
With their backs against the wall, UNC Asheville defeated Firestix and Scully’s once again to earn a berth in the loser’s bracket final. Then playing with their shortstop who was out of town, they came back to defeat Trauma Care and earn a spot in the final against the Wine Guys who they would have to beat twice.
After rallying to win the first game against the Wine Guys to force a winner take all final, Asheville fell behind by five runs heading to the home half of the sixth inning. The Doggers, playing their third game of the day, scored six times in the sixth inning to grab a one-run lead and then held on as Terri Brne got the last three outs in the top of the seventh to give UNC Asheville the championship.
UNC Asheville finished the summer with a 14-7 overall record but most impressively; Asheville went 10-1 in tournament action.
Congratulations to this group of UNC Asheville faculty and staff for giving the Bulldogs their first championship of 2009. Now, let us turn our attention and support our student-athletes who will hopefully bring more titles to campus this season.