The ETSU men’s soccer team dropped a tough match to UNC Asheville as the Bucs fell 1-0 to the Bulldogs on an extremely windy Tuesday afternoon at Greenwood Field in Asheville, N.C.”This was a disappointing result for us,” said head coach Scott Calabrese. “We played under difficult conditions with the wind. Asheville is a very organized team and is very dangerous on the counterattack and set pieces. They stifled our attack, and we had a difficult time getting in behind them and really creating clear cut chances.”

The Bucs (1-4-2) outshot the Bulldogs (4-5-1) 14-9 in the match, while Asheville had a slight advantage in corners, 5-4. Senior goalie Scott Rosman had one save in the match, and freshman midfielder Alesi Osorio had a team-high five shots.

For the Bulldogs, sophomore goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen tallied four saves. On offense, midfielders Jake Hagedorn and Connor Holzinger led the way with three shots each. Holzinger also recorded the lone assist of the contest.

ETSU had a couple good looks as the Bucs pressured UNCA early in the match. Sophomore Aaron Schoenfeld blasted a shot from 25 yards out in the 25th minute, giving Asheville a scare.

The Bulldogs challenged the ETSU back line late in the first half as Bryan Bartels had a good look, but Rosman recorded his save to keep the game scoreless.

The Bucs had another good chance late in the half as Osorio headed a cross from Schoenfeld into the hands of Hurskainen.

The game remained scoreless at the break as Asheville outshot the Buccaneers 7-6 in the half.

“In the second half I think we figured out how not to become susceptible to the counterattack,” Calabrese said. “They got their goal on a set piece where we just lost our concentration. We had to push the pace late in the game as we had some chances but couldn’t get the equalizing goal.”

In the second half, the Bulldogs got on the board as Hagedorn slipped in behind the ETSU back line and knocked a pass from Holzinger into the back of the net to give Asheville a 1-0 lead in the 59th minute.

ETSU put on the pressure late in the second half the Bucs had a couple quality chances. Schoenfeld had a ball go off of the crossbar in the 87th minute, and a point-blank shot saved in the 90th minute as the Bucs could not get the equalizer.

The Bucs are back in action on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. as they open conference play against USC Upstate at Summers-Taylor Stadium.

Author