ASHEVILLE, NC— Winthrop men's soccer scored two goals in less than two minutes apart in the second half to help propel the Eagles to a 3-0 win at UNC Asheville, Saturday evening in Big South men's soccer action.
Winthrop (2-7, 1-3 Big South) 3, UNC Asheville (1-9-2, 0-4 Big South) 0
Oct. 6, 2018
Asheville, NC (Greenwood Soccer Field)
Winthrop Starters: Gaunce (GK), Rapp, Jackson, Mola, Orfanidis, Smith, Maher, Carvajal, Jacobsen, Estevez, Bryan
UNC Asheville Starrters: Bainter (GK), Adams, Peay, Millington, Carroll, Vignali, Felipe Dantes, Lacasto, Gourlay, Bova, Durall
Goals
24' – WINTHROP – (own goal)
61' – WINTHROP – Anselmo (Bryan)
62' – WINTHROP – Estevez (Mola)
Game Recap
- Eagles generated a number of scoring opportunities in the first half
- Leif Estevez helped the Eagles grab a 1-0 lead in the 24th minute when he dribbled his way through traffic in the box and slipped a cross on front of goal just before reaching the end line
- The ball was headed right to Davis Bryan in front, but an Asheville defender slid in front to block it as the ball deflected into the goal for an own goal
- Moments before the goal, Andres Carvajal had a good opportunity off a cross but his header was saved by Dakotah Bainter
- Winthrop finished the first half with a 13-2 advantage in shots (6-1 in shots on goal)
- The Eagles opened up the game with two goals in a minute and 15 seconds in the second half
- The first came in the 61st minute as Davis Bryan attacked the 18-yard box, slipped a pass as he was being tackled to Brandon Anselmo who slotted a shot past the keeper for a 2-0 lead
- In the 62nd minute Asheville was looking to go the other way with a long cross, but Jordi Mola slid and stole the ball away
- Mola this crossed the ball as it was slightly tipped and went right to Estevez who tapped the ball into the open net
- Eagles finished with a 20-8 advantage in shots (11-2 in shots on goal)
Notables
- The Eagles have now scored the first goal of the game in 4-of-9 games this year
- In the first half the Eagles had 13 shots with six players have two shots each
- Winthrop had a season-high 20 shots (previous was 14 twice)
- The assist for Jordi Mola was the first of the season for the central defender
- This was the Eagles first multiple-game win at Asheville since 2012 and 4th all-time
- Asheville had won the last two meetings and as the Eagles were shutout 1-0 in both games
- Chandler Gaunce made his third consecutive start for the Eagles and earned his first win and shutout at Winthrop
- It was the first shutout against a league opponents since the Eagles won 1-0 in overtime at Longwood on Sept. 30, 2017 (9-game span)
Looking Ahead
The Eagles return home to take on Gardner-Webb on Wednesday, Oct. 10 at 6 p.m.
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