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Six Asbury teams fielded competition this week, including mens’ soccer winning their fifth game of seven and the women’s soccer team hosting the first-ever event at the university’s new outdoor venue.

Womens’ soccer

Asbury womens soccer’ (1-5-2) got back on the field Wednesday, Sept. 27, to face Bob Jones University (4-0-5). The game marked the first AU event held on the phase one completed outdoor venue as Asbury junior Reese Bolton scored the first-ever goal on the field. The match was closely contested and went back and forth until the end, with the score resulting in a 2-2 draw.

The Eagles retook the field on Saturday, Sept. 30, as they traveled to Greencastle, Indiana, to take on DePauw University (7-2-2) in an afternoon matchup. DePauw was able to come away with a victory against the Eagles in a 3-0 match. The Tiger’s defense only allowed AU two shots, with one on goal. Violette Moore collected three saves for Asbury in the match. Deidra Long and Caroline Absher each managed a shot for the Eagles. Long earned the lone SOG for the day for the Eagles.

Mens’ Soccer

The Asbury mens’ soccer team (5-2-3) traveled to Carlinville, Illinois, on Monday, Oct. 2, to take on Blackburn College (1-8-2) for the first time ever. The Eagles secured an impressive 3-0 win to mark their fourth shutout in a row and keeper Peyton French’s fifth clean sheet of the year.

Asbury has now won five of their last seven contests with a scoring margin of 14-3 during the run. All three goals for AU came in the second half against Blackburn, Austin Dunlap going first with an assist by Pascal Muller in the 53rd minute. Dunlap now has five goals on the year to lead Asbury, Muller receiving his second assist of his freshman season. Luke Thomas was next in line under ten minutes after Dunlap (64’) to score his second goal of the year, assisted by Nick Clark to mark his team-leading fifth assist.

Clark is now tied for sixth place in the NCCAA in assists. Dalton Fleshood finished the scoring frenzy with the first goal of his Asbury career in the 67th minute, putting the Eagles up 3-0.

Volleyball

Junior Emma Grace Gray and sophomore Riley McChord each set season-highs for Asbury volleyball (6-9) on Wednesday, Sept. 27,  in Wilmore, as AU was edged by Hanover (11-4) in five sets on their home court.

Gray’s season-high 23 kills led both teams and marked the most kills in a match during her time at Asbury. She also served four aces and produced 12 digs on the night.

Riley McChord continued her stellar play with a season-high 23 digs to lead both teams, taking her to five straight matches with 20-plus digs. Megan Walden was the other Eagle with double-digit kills, having 11 on the night. Lucy Kate Gray had 38 assists with 12 digs.

Golf

This past weekend, sophomore Joao Costa finished third place individually for his third top-five finish this season with a 70 final-round score to lead Asbury in the Stateline Shootout at Miami Whitewater Forest in Harrison, Ohio. Four birdies and 12 pars powered Costa’s one-under-par comeback in the final round. On day one of the two-day tournament, he shot a 78 with a birdie and 12 pars. Costa has now finished top-ten in all four 2023 tournaments, including two second-place finishes, a sixth place, and now third place. Asbury, as a team, shot 25-over on day two for the fourth-best score of eight teams. The Eagles finished +56 on the weekend to finish fifth place, one stroke behind Spalding (+55).

Cross Country

Asbury women’s cross country rose to the occasion on Friday night, Sept. 29,  in Terre Haute, Indiana, with a team time of 2:13.59 that qualified them for NCCAA Nationals. AU also marked multiple personal records from men and women in the Nike XC Town Twilight Meet hosted by Rose-Hulman. Asbury sophomore Ava Miller led the way with a time of 25:24.2 for the 6K (3.7 miles) distance, less than a second short of her personal best set last year. Wes Preston paced the Asbury men’s team in an excellent time of 27:19.6 for 8K (5 miles), followed by Cameron Tapp, who recorded a personal best of 28:18.2.

Lexington Clinic Orthopedics Sports Medicine Athletes of the Week

Junior Reese Bolton and sophomore Joao Costa have been named the Asbury University Athletes of the Week, presented by the Lexington Clinic Orthopedics-Sports Medicine Center.

Reese Bolton is a junior from Nicholasville who is pursuing a degree in biology. This past week, Bolton recorded four shots on goal against Bob Jones University and converted it into one goal. Bolton’s goal was the first ever scored at the new outdoor Venue complex.

Joao Costa is a sophomore from Lisboa, Portugal pursuing a business administration degree. Costa had a very impressive tournament this past weekend, finishing tied for 3rd place out of 55 golfers. In the final round, he shot a remarkable 70 (-1) to secure the top-three finish in the Stateline Shootout.