In a heated match between two familiar opponents, the Men in Blue emerged as 2-0 winners behind late goals from Liam Jones and Alejandro Padilla.
South Carolina created the first bit of danger in the match when they stung the crossbar in the 3rd minute. They nearly scored again in the 18th minute but Tommy Viscuso made a great near post save to keep things level.
The Blues got their first chance in the 24th minute when they earned a free kick on the left flank. Ashton Bilow sent in a nice ball that found Dante Huckaby in the middle of the box but his header was saved by Cooper Jennings.
Asheville nearly scored before half when Dominik Wicks, Jack McDaid, and Dominik Renz combined effectively, freeing up Renz behind the Bantams’ backline. Renz beat Jennings with a shot but it barely went wide of the net as the match went scoreless into half.
Seven minutes after the restart, the Blues nearly capitalized on a mistake from the SCU backline. A cheeky pass by Jones was whiffed on by Jennings, but a Bantams defender was able to clear it out of the box before Renz could poke it in.
A weather delay halted proceedings in the 53rd minute, and after play resumed the Blues grabbed a chokehold on the match and started dominating possession. The breakthrough came in the 71st minute, courtesy of Jones. Jones shuttled the ball from midfield into the attacking third before being knocked down 5 yards outside of the box. Jones immediately popped up, continued his solo effort, and placed a pinpoint finish past Jennings into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 lead.
Asheville doubled the lead 18 minutes later, when Jones sent a beautiful free kick into the mixer from the right half-space. Padilla rose above the back and headed it home for her first goal on the season and a 2-0 Asheville win.
Ashton Bilow was named the Wicked Pie Player of the Match for his efforts on the night.
The Men in Blue currently sit in a wild card spot with two matches to go, both on the road. Winning one of the two would clinch the 5th straight playoff appearance for the Blues. They first play the NCFC U23s on July 5th before finishing off the regular season at Hickory FC on July 11th.
The Women in Blue return home to Greenwood Field on Friday, July 3rd for the Southern Conference Semifinals. The Charlotte Eagles play FC Miami City at 3:30 PM, before the Women in Blue face Lonestar SC at 7:00 PM in a rematch of last year’s Southern Conference Championship. The Southern Conference Finals will also be at Greenwood Field on Sunday, July 5th at 6:00 PM, featuring the two winners from Friday’s matches. You can buy your tickets here.
