Quintonio Lema and his University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG) Men’s Soccer teammates surrendered two goals in the final 21 of the game as they suffered a 2-1 loss to hosting UNC Asheville at Greenwood Field.
The loss is UNCG’s first-ever against UNC in program history, snapping a 14-game unbeaten streak against UNC Asheville.
UNCG (1-1-2) controlled play for most of the game, holding a 17-5 edge in shots, including a 10-0 edge in the first half. UNCG also generated 10 first half corner kicks and finished the game with a 13-8 advantage, but couldn’t generate finishing touches throughout the game.
The game was tied after the first 45 minutes despite UNCG dominant play. The second half saw UNC Asheville come out and start to battle back against UNCG, but they scored the game’s first goal in the 66th minute of action.
Sophomore forward Matt Mattis was hauled down in the box and UNCG was awarded a penalty kick. Senior forward Damieon Thomas stepped up and drilled the ball past UNCA goalkeeper Chris Katt for his first goal of the year.
UNC Asheville (1-5-0) answered right back with a long-range goal in the 69th minute to tie the game. Brendan O’Dowd ripped a perfectly placed ball from 25-yards out past sophomore goalkeeper Jon Milligan to the game at 1-1.
UNC took the lead for good in the 80th minute as they were awarded a penalty kick. Zack Joens stepped up for UNC Asheville and beat Milligan for the 2-1 lead.
UNCG battled in the final 10 minutes but were unable to come up with the game-tying goal.
Milligan suffered his first career loss after posting a 6-0-4 record last year. He finished with three saves in his first action of the season. Katt picked up the win for the Bulldogs, posting five saves as UNC Asheville won for the first time this season.
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