On Friday night, the Men of Asheville defeated Nona FC 4-0 in thrilling fashion to advance to the Southern Conference semifinals. The Blues dominated in all aspects of the game, with the backline putting in an excellent shift, allowing for the attack to push forward with numbers and create several key opportunities. 

Originally scheduled for a 7:30 kickoff at Greenwood Field, the match was unfortunately delayed multiple times due to inclement weather, forcing both sets of matches to be relocated to Buncombe County Sports Park. Despite this setback, the Asheville faithful were in full force, supporting the Blues in the rainy conditions even without stands. 

As the light rain drizzled onto the pitch amidst the bright lights, the match finally kicked off after some initial uncertainty regarding the forecast. Within just two minutes of action, the Blues captured an early 1-0 lead thanks to an outstanding first-time finish by captain Simon Carlson. Following a poor clearance by Nona’s backline, Carlson, without hesitation, unleashed an absolute screamer on the half volley, nearly ripping through the side netting of the goal. 

For much of the first half, both teams looked to size each other up, coinciding in their high press and possession out of the back. Due to the compactness of both backlines, chances were hard to come by in the initial 45 minutes. 

A majority of Asheville’s chances came from corners and crosses in the first half, with Sven Rempel being the main threat on the left side. In the 24th minute, he whipped in a beautiful back-post cross to Mao Wong, who’s strong header bounced straight to goalkeeper Shane Wright. 

Two minutes later, Nona FC generated their first real chance of the match. Receiving the ball from a cross, Ivan Agyaakwah quickly laid it off for Paulo Alves outside of the 18. The FIU striker hit a low, powerful half volley first-time, missing the near post by mere inches. 

Just before the end of the half, the Blues nearly doubled their lead off a wonder-strike from Sergio Ors Navarro. After Dante Huckaby switched the ball to the right sideline, Navarro swiftly controlled it and whizzed past his defender, launching a curling left-footed effort from distance that just missed the upper left corner of the goal. The Blues would enter halftime with a crucial 1-0 lead. 

The second half began with the Blues at the forefront. With Asheville continuing to press, Nona transitioned their attack to more direct passing to their pacey striker, though this approach would prove to be ineffective.

Eight minutes into the second half, Rempel was involved in the action again, delivering another dangerous cross into the box. The Lindsey Wilson defender floated in a cross towards the back post and almost scored, narrowly missing the crossbar. 

In the 58th minute, the Blues took a resounding 2-0 lead thanks to another amazing strike from Carlson. In the buildup to the goal, a Lewis Johnson clearance found the feet of Reid-Stephen, who, twisting and turning, put his defender on skates and switched the ball to Carlson outside of the box. With hours to shoot, Carlson fired a low, thunderous shot towards the bottom left corner, bouncing off the post and in for the goal. 

On his debut, striker Niall Reid-Stephen impressed following his move from Appalachian FC. The Barbados International was a constant threat to Nona’s backline due to his immense speed, causing all kinds of issues throughout the evening.

As Asheville’s backline continued to put in an excellent shift, Coach Scott Wells sought to bring on attacking reinforcements to extend their lead even further. After introducing leading goal-scorer Sebastian Tregarthen off the bench, the Blues began to completely overwhelm Nona FC for the last half-hour. 

In the 85th minute, substitute Carson Wood was awarded a penalty after being fouled from behind in the box. Tregarthen stepped up to the spot and calmly finished the ball into the right side-netting, all but securing the victory for the Blues. 

However, Asheville wasn’t done quite yet. Deep into added time, Izaiah Vignali’s unrelenting pressure caused a turnover beyond the penalty area. Taking a touch forward, Vignali launched a blistering strike past Wright for the goal. The match would end just seconds later, with the men of Asheville claiming the victory and extending their undefeated streak to 13 matches. 

On the back of their excellent performances, both Carlson and Vignali earned Highland Brewing Man of the Match honors. Carlson’s brace puts him at 6 goals on the season, while Vignali now has 3.

The Blues will now face Brave SC in the Southern Conference semifinals at Greenwood Field on Sunday at 7:30PM. Brave SC, formerly known as the Villages SC, knocked out Asheville at this stage in last season’s playoffs. The Blues are seeking revenge as they look to advance to the conference finals for the first time in history. 

TICKETS BOUGHT FOR THE FRIDAY JULY 19TH MATCH WILL BE HONORED FOR THIS MATCH

“Obviously there’s not that many players that were here from last season, but we did go over a little video last night and highlighted the hurt that we had. But, we’re a new group with different identities and cultures this season, so I’m really excited to have them. I think this is going to be a higher level game than before, so it’ll be very interesting to see what happens,” said Coach Wells ahead of Sunday’s semi-final rematch.

Earlier in the day, Brave SC defeated Sarasota Paradise 2-1 in extra time to advance to the next round. Brave SC currently holds a 10-1-2 record with a Southeast conference title.