Asheville Stuns Bulldogs in First Round of Big South Conference Tournament
November 13, 2008 | Men's Soccer
The Gardner-Webb men's soccer team fell to UNC Asheville, 4-2, Thursday night in the first round of the Big South Conference Tournament hosted by Coastal Carolina University.
The midfield of Gardner-Webb possessed the ball well the entire first half. Gardner-Webb kept up its attack most of the first half, rounding of seven shots and placing five on goal. Four of the five shots on goal came from First Team All-Conference selection Miguel Pinzon. Pinzon's chances came sporadically throughout the first half, but all were aimed right at Asheville goalkeeper Lassi Hurskainen who tallied five saves in the first half alone.
Asheville's goal came midway through the first half after Gardner-Webb turned the ball over in its defensive third. Asheville's J.W. Gallegher picked up the loose ball along the left sideline and sent a cross into the box where Scott Szymanski flicked on a header to freshman Bryan Bartels inside the six. From there, Bartels took two juggles and finished it into the top right netting, just out of Gardner-Webb goalkeeper Dane Geraci's reach.
The goal marked Asheville's sixth first half goal this season, the 14th given up in the first half by Gardner-Webb. Despite all of Gardner-Webb's chances, Asheville was able to hold the ‘Dogs scoreless in the first half and secure a one-goal advantage heading into halftime.
The Boiling Springs ‘Dogs came out fired up in the second half, placing a lot of pressure on the ball and continuing where they left off in the first half. Senior Bradley Morrison almost tied the match in the opening minutes with a blast from 25 yards out, but the ball skimmed just right of the side bar.
Soon after, the Bulldogs from Asheville had a chance of their own. Ryan Haupt received a loose ball around the 30 yard mark on the right side of the field and one-timed it past Geraci for Asheville's second goal of the match. Haupt's opportunity was made possible after the ball was batted around in the box and escaped out the back door.
Asheville almost opened up the match less than 5 minutes later with a break away from Bartels. However, Geraci came out of his box and met Bartels at the 10 yard line and made a phenomenal diving save to keep the match at 2-0.
Asheville added another goal 10 minutes later off the foot of Alex Morrow. Morrow scored the unassisted goal from eight yards out off a deflection by the Bulldogs' back line. The ball hit off of sophomore Adam Augruso's legs and right to Morrow who was waiting at the back door.
Down 3-0, Gardner-Webb didn't go quit without a fight. The Bulldogs earned a free kick in the 75th minute and Morrison was chosen to take it. After the whistle, Morrison sent a nice ball into box that went all the way through, untouched, and into back right netting. The goal scored by Morrison came from 35 yards out for his 7th of the season.
Another free kick by Morrison in 79th minute bounced off three bodies in the box, but Hurskainen made a diving save to keep score at 3-1. Soon after a clearance by Hurskainen, Colton Paschall scored the fourth goal for Asheville off a throw in. The throw went to Paschall's feet around the 25 yard mark at the left side of the field and he sent in a high bending shot over Geraci's head to put Asheville ahead 4-1.
Morrison scored his second goal of the match from 40 yards out in the waning minutes of the match, but it was not enough. Asheville took the match 4-2 to advance to the semi-finals of the Conference Tournament.
"You think at 3-0, you might have iced the game, but credit Gardner-Webb," said Asheville's head coach Steve Cornish. "They made us fight tooth-and-nail right from the start. It was a battle. We just couldn't lock the door. That's what the tournament is all about, isn't it? You're just trying to hold on. It's everyone's last game, then it's everyone's last 20 minutes, then the last 10 minutes. We're supposed to fight tooth-and-nail, and that's what we did tonight."
Gardner-Webb head coach Tony Setzer responded to tonight's match by saying, "I'd like to thank Coastal Carolina for putting on a great tournament, I just wish we would have played as well as they hosted. My hats off to Asheville. They are a great team. They really put us off balance and did a great job tonight. I congratulate them on the victory and I wish them the best of luck. They have a great coaching staff and a great team. I just want to say that I am thankful to be here, and I hope we can do better next year in the Big South.
