“Expect a brand of soccer that will excite, that will be numerical advantages all over the field combining and hopefully a lot of goals.” 

Asheville City comes into the 2022 season with a strong batch of new, returning and local players. With that mix brings a balancing act.

“I told the guys at the start that they’ve got to be comfortable being uncomfortable. What I mean by that is being able to express themselves, who they are, why I brought them here, and obviously have conversations with other teammates as much as possible,” said Head Coach Scott Wells. “We’re obviously going to have some team bonding, we’ve worked quite hard as a staff on establishing what would be the correct interaction to get the guys up to speed with each other.”

2022 Asheville City Soccer Men’s Team

Kemy Amiche | Campbell | Midfielder | Goussainville, France  

Amiche comes to ACSC after a successful freshman year at Campbell University. Although only in his first year, Amiche already has many accolades to his name. He is a College Soccer News Freshman All-American and Big South first team all-conference. He was also among leaders in the conference with points and assists. Amiche’s efforts helped lead Campbell to a Big South conference tournament title. 

Ryan Baer | WVU | Midfielder | Huntersville, NC

Baer joins the ACSC men’s squad after two successful seasons at West Virginia University. He started all 10 games of the fall 2021 season and finished third on the team in minutes played with 882. He tallied two assists, four shots and one shot on goal on the year. 

Conor Behan | UNCA | Midfielder | Dublin, Ireland

Behan joins the Blues after finishing up his 2021 season at UNCA. Behan came to UNCA after an extremely successful youth career in Ireland, playing on national and developmental squads. While at UNCA he was named to the All-Big South freshman team and named freshman of the week.

Ryan Bilichuk | University of South Carolina | GK | Greenville, SC 

Bilichuck comes to Asheville after his senior season at the University of South Carolina. Last season he started in  10 of the 11 games he played in. He earned two shutouts and saved a season-high seven shots against FIU. He finished the season with a .635 save percentage. Prior to college he Spent time at ASU Preparatory Academy in Casa Grande, Ariz. and played for Barca Academy, FC Barcelona's official residency soccer academy in the United States. 

Asa Blake | AC Reynolds | Forward | Asheville, NC

ACSC welcomes Asa Blake, a former forward for AC Reynolds Highschool. His last season at Reynolds he scored 25 goals and tallied 15 assists in the 16 game campaign. Most recently he has played for FC Malaga City Academy in Spain and returned to Asheville to join ACSC. 

Josiah Blanton | James Madison University | Defender | Roswell, GA

Josiah Blanton comes to Asheville after two seasons at James Madison University. As a redshirt freshman he played in all 17 games, making 16 starts. During his career he tallied two goals and three assists. Before college he was nominated for Georgia Gatorade Player of the Year his senior year. He was also ranked 43rd in the country on TopDrawer his junior year.

Mason Cookus | UNC Asheville | Midfielder | Mooresville, NC

Cookus comes to ACSC as a rising senior at UNC Asheville. During the 2021 season he appeared in four games and earned an assist against Gardner-Webb. Before UNCA, Cookus played at Johnson & Wales University and was a part of the Charlotte Independence development academy team. 

Colin Daughtry | UNC Asheville | Forward | Raleigh, NC

ACSC welcomes UNC Asheville senior Colin Daughtry to the club. Daughtry comes to the Blues after four seasons with the Bulldogs. During the spring of 2021 he tied for a team-leading three goals and netted the game-winner against Winthrop. Before college he was selected to the US Soccer Market Training Centers in 2014 and 2015 and played his club soccer for the CASL Railhawks Academy.

Ethan Dekel | South Carolina | Midfielder | Nottingham, England 

ACSC is proud to welcome Ethan Dekel from Nottingham, England. For the past eleven years Dekel has played for Nottingham Forest Academy and comes to the states to play for the University of South Carolina. 

Bissafi Dotte | Campbell | Defender | Paris, France

Dotte comes to Asheville from Campbell University. During the 2021 season Dotte started in all 21 contests and earned Big South defensive player of the year honors. He helped lead Campbell to a Big South championship and an appearance in the NCAA tournament. In 2019 he was named First-Team All Conference and selected to the Big South all-freshman team.  

Luca Erhardt | James Madison | Forward | Offenbach, Germany

Erhardt comes to Asheville from James Madison University where he plays the forward position. During the 2021 season he started all 17 games and was selected to the All-CAA First-Team. He recorded a team-high of nine goals and an assist. Prior to his career at JMU, he played at Monroe College where he was named an NJCAA and an USCJC Men’s Division I First-Team All-American in 2019. He also led NJCAA Division I in points and goals in 2019. 

Izzy Garcia-Perez | UNCA | Midfielder | Asheville, NC

ACSC welcomes local Izzy Garcia-Perez after a stint at UNC Asheville. Perez began his collegiate career at Clemson, then transferred to his hometown team at UNCA. As a Bulldog he started in all seven games he appeared in. He played an important role in helping the Bulldogs reach the Big South Tournament. 

Sean Green | AC Reynolds | GK | Asheville, NC

Sean Green joins Asheville City after his junior year at AC Reynolds Highschool. A team captain, Green compiled 97 saves in 16 contests his junior season. While at AC Reynolds he has recorded 14 shutouts and earned a save percentage of .880. 

Lucas Gonzalez | UCSB | Defender | Long Beach, CA

Gonzalez joins the Blues from UC Santa Barbara. This past season he started 11 out of the 12 games he appeared in. He finished the 2021 season with one goal and three assists. Prior to his college career, he played for LA Galaxy Academy for six years. 

Jason Gun | Owen Highschool | Midfielder | Black Mountain, NC

Gun returns to ACSC for his third season in Blue. Gun played for the academy team in 2019 and the first team in 2021. Still in highschool, Gun earned All-Western Highland Boys Soccer Player of the Year this past fall. He also plays for the Highland Football Club in Asheville, NC. In the fall Gun will head to Eastern Tennessee State University to play Division I soccer. 

Kyoji Hata | Campbell | Midfielder | Tokyo, Japan 

ACSC welcomes Kyoki Hata from Tokyo, Japan. Hata currently plays at Campbell University and previously played for Prima Community College at the JUCO level. While at Prima he played in 21 matches and was a NJCAA National Championship participant. That season he scored 6 goals with 6 assists. 

Lorenz Hoover | Denison University | TP | Black Mountain, NC

Hoover returns for his third season with Asheville City. He contributed to the Academy team in 2019 and the first team for 2021. In his rookie season at Denison, Hoover appeared in all seventeen matches with eight of them being starts. In his junior season for 2021, Hoover started all nineteen of their matches, his success was not left unrecognized as he earned United Soccer Coaches Third-Team All-Region VII selection, First-Team All-NCAC, NCAC All-Tournament Team, OCSA NCAA Men’s Division III Second-Team All-Ohio.

Quenten “Quenzi” Huerman | Palm Beach Atlantic | Midfielder | Vannes, France

Asheville City welcomes Quenten Huerman from West Palm Beach where he plays midfielder for Palm Beach Atlantic University. In 2021 he earned SCC Player of the Year honors and made it on the All-SSC first-team. He started in 15 games and logged 953 minutes in 2021. He recorded 20 points, six goals, and eight assists. Previously, he played two years for the Vanness Olympique Club youth team. 

Caden Lawrence | Lander | Defender | Greenville, SC

ACSC welcomes Caden Lawrence from Greenville, SC. Lawrence is a rising-sophomore at Lander University. He played in two games his freshman year and helped lead the team to a Peach Belt Conference Semi-Final. During high school he was a Clash of the Carolinas Captain and Man of the Match, two-time National Playoff Attendee, 5A All State and All Region Athlete, two-time Jefferson Cup Champion and two-time ODP Region III Team One player. 

Oskar Lenz | SIUE | Midfielder | Hamburg, Germany

Originally from Germany, Oskar Lenz comes to Asheville from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. During the fall 2021 season, Lenz started in 14 out of the 17 games he appeared in. He finished the season with two goals, four assists, and eight points total. Academically, Lenz was a first-team MVC all-academic team selection. 

Daniel Merino Correa | University of Rio Grande | GK | Madrid, Spain

ACSC welcomes Daniel Merino from the University of Rio Grande where he plays NAIA men’s soccer. Merino started in all 20 games he played at goalkeeper. He ended the season with a .783 save percentage and 12 shutouts. Merino was named RSC Defensive Player of the Year and led the team to a top 20 NAIA ranking. 

Declan Mettee | Central Arkansas | Forward | Asheville, NC

Declan Mettee joins the ACSC men’s team after contributing to the academy team last year. Mettee, who is currently playing with FC Malaga in Spain, is committed to Central Arkansas after a successful high school career at Asheville School. During his time on Varsity he scored a total of 83 goals and tallied 15 assists. He was also a team captain his senior year. 

Finn McBride | UCSB| Forward | Sydney, Australia

McBride comes to ACSC from UC Santa Barbara. He has started in 19 out of 21 games played. In his two seasons he tallied nine goals and seven assists with one game-winning goal. Before UCSC he attended Newington College in Australia as a central midfielder and on the wings. He also played for Sydney FC U20. 

Bachir Ndiaye | UNCW | Midfielder | Jacksonville, NC  

Ndiaye comes to ACSC after two successful seasons at UNCW and a brief stint at Louisburg College. During the 2021 season he was a starter for 15 out of 16 games. He attempted five shots for the season, two of which were on goal. While in highschool, he achieved 3A all-state honors at Northside Highschool. 

Dave Neijenhuis | TWU | Defender | Milingen, Netherlands  

Originally from the Netherlands, Dave Neijenhuis joins the Blues following his freshman season at Tennessee Wesleyan University. Neijenhuis moved with his family to El Paso, Texas, before returning to the Netherlands to rejoin the U19s National Team before being called up to the First team. Neijenhuis previously played in the USL for the Dalton Red Wolves SC. 

Clay Obara | James Madison | Midfielder | Virginia Beach, VA

From Virginia Beach, Clay Obara comes to ACSC after three successful seasons with James Madison University. As a redshirt sophomore he appeared and started in 17 games and was third on the team in points with nine. He also led the team with three game-winning goals. Prior to college he was named the 2019 Gatorade Virginia Boys Soccer Player of the Year and led the region in scoring his senior year. 

Aidan O’Brien | ETSU | Midfielder | Asheville, NC

Asheville native Aidan O’Brien returns to ACSC after playing with the club in 2017. After starting his career at University of South Carolina and La Salle University, O’Brien found a home at ETSU during the pandemic. He finished his career at ETSU as a captain, team MVP and a starter for 25 games. He notably played in the US Open Cup with the SC United Bantams. 

Makel Rasheed | University of Indianapolis | Defender | Rockville, MD 

Makel Rasheed joins ACSC after four successful seasons at the University of Indianapolis. Rasheed was a leading defender for the Division II greyhounds while notching five goals during the 2021 season. He has also received numerous honors including 2021 D2CCA All-America Second Team, 2021 GLVC Defensive Player of the Year, 2021 NCAA Division II All-Tournament Team, 2021 All-GLVC First Team, and more. 

Dylan Thompson | USD | Defender | Hambleton, England

Thompson comes to the Blues after wrapping up his freshman season playing Division I at University of San Diego. Thompson played in nine games with six starts. Prior to his career at USD, Thompson played with Everton FC and Blackpool FC Academy where he was a standout player and frequent starter. 

Malcolm Ward | NIU | Defender | Youngs, Australia 

ACSC welcomes Malcolm Ward from Northern Illinois University where he plays as a defender. During the 2021 campaign he appeared in eight matches, making six starts. Prior to his college career he was a member of the Australian National Team at the 2015 U17 World Cup, helping the Joeys reach the Round of 16. 

William Watson | Princeton | GK | Asheville, NC

An Asheville native, Watson returns to the Blues for a third season after making his first team debut during the 2021 season and playing with the academy team in 2019. Before college he spent two seasons with FC Dallas Academy’s U17 team and averaged 7.2 saves per game with a .556 save percentage. While at Carolina Day School he was a 4-year varsity starter who was a two-time all-state selectee and three-time all-conference player. 

Asheville City Soccer Club’s men’s team will host NC Fusion in a friendly on Friday, May 6 with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. 

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In their first USL League game of the season, the Blues will hit the road, traveling to take on One Knoxville SC on Saturday, May 14. You can find the entire Men's USL League schedule HERE.