The Women of Asheville finished up their season with a 4-1 rout of Wake FC at Greenwood Field on July 1st, on a night where Asheville City honored the 1985 US Women’s National Team. 

The action started in the 8th minute when Kennedy Bell drove down the left flank. Bell slid a cross over for Riley Thompson who turned on a defender and fired towards the bottom right corner but her effort would go wide.

It would not take long for the Blues to get on the board however as in the 12th minute Azalea Mihailovic sent a splitting through ball around the midfield line on the right flank to Thompson. Thompson would then slide a pass over from the corner of the box to Gillian Oyos in the middle, who calmly turned the pass with a defender on her back into the bottom left corner for a 1-0 Asheville lead.

In the 17th minute, Asheville would come close to another. A corner kick was headed away by the Wake FC defense but it would only go as far as Mihailovich. Mihailovich would dance around a Wake defender and send a dipping shot towards the net but it would go just over the crossbar for a goalkick.

Wake FC would come close to finding an equalizer in the 23rd minute, when they pounced on a turnover from the Blues. A pass found Makenna Dominguez all alone with Emory Wegener, but her one-on-one close-range shot towards the bottom left corner was kicked away by Wegener.

In the 39th minute, Asheville was searching for another when a ball popped out to Ryen Ortiz about 25 yards out from goal. Ortiz would settle it and rip a long-range shot but it would go over the bar.

Wake FC would find an equalizer in the 56th minute. A throughball from the right of the half circle freed Dominguez on the left side of the box, who calmly took her chance and finished past the keeper to knot the score up at 1.

The Blues would strike back six minutes later however when an Ilana Izquierdo cross from the right flank found the head of Riley Thompson by the near post. Thompson would head it across the keeper and into the back of the net to put Asheville back on top 2-1.

The Blues would double their lead just a mere two minutes later, with Thompson earning a brace on the night. Izquierdo layed off a short corner for Mihailovic who sent an uncontested cross that found the head of Thompson before skipping off the head of a Wake defender and nestling itself in the back of the net for a 3-1 Asheville lead. That tally was Thompson’s team-leading 6th on the season. 

“Riley is a constant threat inside of the scoring area. She doesn’t give up on any ball, she pressures, she creates little windows and she takes advantage of those. So great to see her find the back of the net again,” said Head Coach Billy Lesesne.

Two minutes later, the Blues threatened to score again. Kennedy Bell received a feed on the left flank and cut inside towards the box before launching a shot towards the far post that just narrowly went wide.

The Blues would tack on another in the 75th, with Thompson being involved again. Thompson would hop on a underhit backpass from the Wake FC backline just outside the box and unselfishly square it for Ortiz who would finish it into the bottom left corner to supplement Asheville’s advantage and make it 4-1 in favor of the Blues.

The Blues would come within a few inches of finding another in the 90th minute. A long ball over the top by Liv Simpson just a few yards outside her own goal box was sent to Nao Kawasaki on the left side of the goal box at the other end of the field. Kawasaki would run onto it and knock the bouncing ball down with her head into a half-volley that she tried to loft over the Wake FC keeper but it would go very narrowly wide of the far post.

The final whistle would blow a couple of minutes later and the Women in Blue would walk away from their final game of the season with a 4-1 victory. This result means that the Blues will finish in 2nd place in the South Atlantic Division with 22 points and a 7-4-1 record.

“It’s outstanding being home and having the 85ers here all weekend has been pretty exciting. After they scored the goal it kind of ignited us and  we started to play at a faster pace and you can see how much the players enjoyed playing with each other, so I really enjoyed that moment that they got to share,” said Lesesne.

For their efforts in the match and their contributions to Asheville City Soccer Club over the years, Parker Roberts, Emory Wegener, and Laura Greb were awarded with the Highland Brewing Wishing Star of the Match.

Up next for the Men, an away date with the Dalton Red Wolves on July 5th, before returning home to Greenwood Field on July 8th for a bout with Tennessee SC.