On Saturday night, the men of Asheville clinched an undefeated season for the first time in the club’s history, defeating Tennessee SC 2-1 at Greenwood Field. With the victory, the Blues finished the regular season ranked #1 in the country, marking another first for the club. 

Following a disappointing draw on the road against Tennessee SC the previous weekend, Asheville looked to bounce back and finish the season with momentum ahead of the playoffs. With an undefeated season on the line, the Blues came firing, creating eight quality chances within the first 45 minutes. 

Just 30 seconds into the first half, Sebastian Tregarthen tested the Tennessee backline for the first time. Receiving an excellent long ball from Johnny Mennell that bounced into the opposing box, the Uruguayan tipped the ball past goalkeeper Dominic Miller and attempted to find the empty net with an off-balance strike, missing just wide. 

For much of the first half, Asheville focused on building from the back, playing passes down the sidelines to overlapping fullbacks delivered several dangerous crosses into the box. In the 10th minute, the Blues did just this, as Alexandre Horveno overlapped Lewis Johnson on the left side, receiving the ball downfield and putting in a dangerous cross towards the back post to Oskar Magnusson. Magnusson quickly brought the ball down and served a cross to the unmarked Johnson, whose powerful header flew over the bar. 

In the 22nd minute, Johnson was involved in the action yet again, this time hitting the post following some wonderful buildup play from Asheville. In the center circle, Simon Carlson delivered a well-timed through ball to Johnson, who, at the edge of the box, slipped it past the oncoming Miller, unfortunately striking the left post and out. 

It would only take four more minutes for the Blues to finally find the back of the net. From a perfectly-positioned free kick just outside of the box, Horveno bent a cross into the middle of the box, where Miller surprisingly failed to punch it out, allowing Arnezha Astwood to tap it in for his third goal of the season. 

After taking a 1-0 lead, Asheville took full control of the match, dominating in transition while overwhelming Tennessee with their high press. In the 31st minute, Magnusson nearly doubled the lead after Izaiah Vignali sliced through Tennessee’s backline with an impressive bouncing long-ball. The Dartmouth sophomore swiftly collected the ball and cut past his defender, curling a strike over the bar while one-on-one with Miller. 

In the 44th minute, after timing his run perfectly, Johnson received a through ball from Vignali and rapidly dribbled into the box, where he was fouled from behind. However, to the crowd’s disbelief, the referees awarded a free kick outside of the box, despite Johnson being clearly fouled inside. Astwood stepped up to take the free kick but failed to make it past the wall. 

The no-call would come back to haunt Asheville, as Tennessee equalized just a minute later. From the right sideline, Jacopo Saugher delivered an impressive long ball into the box, connecting with Jack Casey, whose towering header rose above Mennell and into the net, making it 1-1 at halftime. 

As in the first half, Asheville dominated the latter, controlling much of the possession and forcing mistakes with their high press. It didn’t take long for Asheville to net their second goal of the evening coming out of halftime. 

Three minutes into the second half, the Blues took a 2-1 lead thanks to a clever tap-in from Sergio Ors Navarro. In the buildup, Magnusson played a superb through ball into the box to Astwood, who whipped in a first-time cross towards the middle, Navarro for the simple finish. The Castellon native has filled in nicely for Robles, scoring three goals since his arrival. 

In the 70th minute, Navarro nearly secured a brace following a giveaway off a throw-in from Tennessee. After intercepting the ball in the middle of the pitch, Carson Wood darted downfield, slipping a pass through the center backs to Navarro. The Spaniard struck it first-time, hitting a low, bouncing strike towards the center of goal, forcing Wood to make an excellent diving save from close-range. 

Four minutes later, Tennessee earned a dangerously positioned free kick just outside of the box. With prowess, Michael Saunders launched a rocket past Asheville’s wall, giving Mennell little time to react. However, the Xavier goalkeeper quickly adjusted and pulled off arguably the save of the match, punching the ball out of danger. 

The Blues almost put the game to bed in the 85th minute, hitting the post for the second time in the match. 16-year-old academy prospect Aukele Paikuli-Campbell impressed off the bench, serving a crisp, low cross towards the top of the box to Wood, whose strike was deflected to Carlson. From a considerable distance, the West Virginia midfielder executed a jaw-dropping half volley that rose towards the upper right corner of the goal, hitting the inside of the post and out. 

For the remaining minutes of the match, Asheville remained compact, preventing Tennessee from generating anything threatening going forward. The Blues would go on to win the match 2-1, capping off their undefeated season in dramatic fashion. 

With his dominant shift in the midfield, Vignali earned the Highland Brewing Man of the Match recognition. Vignali has been a crucial force in the midfield this season, controlling the tempo and rhythm of each match.

“It’s an incredible achievement across sports, no matter if you’re in football, basketball, or soccer. You go undefeated in a season and it's pretty incredible. I’m just so grateful to be the head coach, but the amount of work that goes on behind the scenes by so many guys has allowed this to happen and be possible,” said Coach Scott Wells after clinching an undefeated regular season for the first time. 

The job’s not finished yet, as Asheville will host the first two rounds of the USL2 playoffs on July 19th and 22nd. July 19th will consist of a double header, with the Blues playing at the 7:30 pm time slot. With a win, they would advance to the division finals on Sunday at 7:30 pm at Greenwood Field.