Everyone remembers their first… whether it be lost tooth, day of high school, kiss, childbirth, encounter with a two-legged horse (mine was February, 2006)…. And for the 2,176 fans present for Saturday night’s sellout at Memorial Stadium, Asheville City Soccer Club’s first ever match will surely join that list.

It was exceptionally chilly for the first Saturday in May. The cold, wet evening however did not deter the crowds from making the march up the hill, nor did it dissuade them from providing a raucous opening environment. Flags, banners, and blue smoke filled the air as the countdown to kickoff neared zero. The excitement in the stands visibly resonated down to field level.

From the first whistle, players on both sides played with a special energy.

(Photo Credit: Alex Hamilton)

The day started for many fans at Hi-Wire Brewing, where the soccer pool table was back in action. Fans mingled and met for the first time. Had the weather been more May-like, I believe there would have been three times the amount of folks that made the mile and a half march up Biltmore Ave. to the stadium. Nonetheless, it was a great turnout, and the system may be different for the next home game with the possibility of shuttles running folks up to the South Slope for a much shorter march. That’s to be determined and will be promoted on the South Slope Blues Facebook page.

ACSC only had one official practice, and even that was cut down to a mere hour long session due to weather.

You wouldn’t have been able to tell it.

Despite the handful of expected miscues and minor kinks from a brand new club comprised mostly of college players, I think everyone was pleasantly surprised by the chemistry this early on. And all game long, Asheville was superb on the counter attack. The finishes will come, but the early signs of a strong counter and general ball control were very promising.

(Photo Credit: Alex Hamilton)

There were early results, too. It only took until the 18th minute for Tom Deeley to find Christian Szalay in the box for the first goal in the city’s extremely brief professional history. Sidelines? Ecstasy.

It only took 13 more minutes for Georgia to equalize though. The Revolution picked up the tempo and responded in the 31st minute with a Christian Duncan equalizer past Parker Siegfried before going into the half.

However, Asheville came out stronger in the second half and seemed to be in control for much of the remainder. In the 75th minute, Zack Compton launched a beautiful ball down the field and Cameron Saul beat a hesitant Rev’s keeper, Bryce Billington, to the first touch, leaving himself with an empty-netter.

Georgia made the ensuing push you’d expect the last 20 minutes (5 in stoppage), but ACSC were too amped from the first night jitters and a fiery crowd. Led by several key late stops by Siegfried, Asheville City wrote their own favorable history with an opening night victory in what promises to be a very special year for the club and fans alike. I don’t know whether I’m more hungover from the beer or all of Saturday’s excitement right now, and it’s Tuesday morning.

I’ll stop being dramatic. It was absolutely the beer. My head still hurts. Moving on…

I was able to catch up with Coach Hamel and President Ryan Kelley after the match back at Hi-Wire. They told me that 4 of our 6 away games will be streamable through the home teams’ sites. Our next match at Memphis City FC this Saturday will be viewable and there will be a watch party at the Big Top for those who want to join us in some away camaraderie. We may even be setting up the soccer pool table again.

Kickoff all year long will be at 7:30. Next week, we double up with back-to-back home matches Wednesday and Friday, so mark those calendars and let’s do it all again.

Big thanks to @iamavl for streaming the entire match for those of you who could not attend. Fortunately, they will be streaming every home match. And, a replay of Saturday night’s game is available on YouTube now:

I want to take the time now to apologize for not taking as many photographs as I wanted. I totally got caught up in the emotions of everything, but will be including more visuals from this point forward. And if you’d like to contribute photography for us to use here at SNST and on our social media, please do! Twitter and Facebook both, our user name is SoccerNSweetTea.

What an atmosphere and game that was. Saturday was a special one, that’s for sure. And, I have a feeling we’re going to pack the house all year long as word continues to spread, for what proves to be a magical first season.

Again, next game, Saturday in Memphis. Next home game, Wednesday, May 17th against Tri-Cities FC. Let’s continue to #paintthecityblue.