ASHEVILLE, NC – The UNC Asheville women’s soccer team travels to Cullowhee this weekend to take part in the Catamount Classic. The Bulldogs play Elon on Friday starting at 5 p.m. and battle Western Carolina Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Asheville enters the tournament with wins in three of its last four matches. The Bulldogs rallied for a 2-1 victory over Tennessee Tech on Sunday. Michele Cornish’s team scored twice in the final 20 minutes to get the victory and raise the Bulldogs record to 3-2-0.
However, Cornish wants a better performance this weekend than the one against the Golden Eagles on Sunday.
“We found a way to win last Sunday and that was good to see but we didn’t play very well,” stated Cornish. “We were fortunate to only be down 1-0 in the second half and then fortunate we were able to get those two goals. We’re going to have take things up a notch this weekend.”
Elon is 2-2-1 on the season and its two wins are over Big South teams in Coastal Carolina and High Point. Western Carolina has been playing very good soccer this year. The Lady Catamounts are 2-3-1 on the season but have narrowly missed upsetting ranked teams such as Tennessee and Dayton.
“We’ve got our hands full with both of our opponents,” commented Cornish. “Both are very good teams that have posted impressive results this year. Elon is a well-coached team that doesn’t make many mistakes. Western Carolina has been impressive in its play this year. We’re going to have to play smart for 90 minutes.”
Freshman forward Chole Mcleary-Small has been a real spark for the Bulldogs in the early part of the season. She has scored three goals and added an assist for a team-leading seven points. Two of her goals have been game-winners.
