Asheville, N.C. – Winthrop men’s soccer suffered a 3-0 road loss to UNC Asheville on Friday night, falling to 2-2-0 in conference play.
UNCA (9-2-1, 3-1-0 Big South) 3, Winthrop (5-6-1, 2-2-0 Big South), 0
Oct. 9, 2026 | Greenwood Soccer Field
Scoring Summary
17′ – UNC Asheville – Ware (Granzow)
56′ – UNC Asheville – Ling (Hardarson)
86′ – UNC Asheville – Mbamba
Game Recap
- After an early yellow card to Sam Crolla, Kevin Christensen saved Ian Smith’s shot at 10:07, and the Eagles earned three corner kicks from 11:32 to 12:49 while the match remained 0-0.
- UNC Asheville moved in front at 16:20 when Tyler Ware scored off an assist from Lennart Granzow to make it 1-0.
- The Eagles pushed for a response with shots from Daniel Restrepo, Jorge Perez and Crolla before Cody Read was shown a red card at 34:33.
- Christensen made another save on Ware at 34:33, and the Eagles added late attempts from Alfie Humphrey and Shion Hayashi before UNC Asheville carried the 1-0 lead into halftime.
- UNC Asheville earned corner kicks at 51:46 and 54:55 before Joseph Ling scored from Arnor Hardarson’s assist at 55:35 to make it 2-0.
- The Eagles responded with three shots over the next four minutes, including Jorge Perez’s saved attempt at 59:29.
- UNC Asheville applied pressure through the middle of the half, hitting the woodwork at 61:06 and forcing Christensen saves at 61:29 and 76:11, while the Eagles added attempts from Pablo Ortega and Josh Murray.
- Crolla had a shot saved at 77:54 and Teo Jelaca missed left at 80:51, but UNC Asheville added Kayoum Mbamba’s goal at 85:14 and closed out a 3-0 win.
Notables
- Kevin Christensen recorded eight saves while playing all 90 minutes in goal.
- Daniel Restrepo led the Eagles with three shots.
- Sam Crolla finished with two shots, including one on goal.
- Jorge Perez added two shots and put one on frame.
Looking Ahead
The Eagles will return home to Rock Hill on Tuesday night and square off against ETSU at 6 p.m. est.
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Story courtesy of Winthrop Athletics.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Associate Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
