ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The Eastern Kentucky University women's soccer team was defeated by host UNC Asheville, 2-1, in its 2013 opener on Friday at Greenwood Field.

EKU (0-1) outshot Asheville (1-0), 13-9, but failed to capitalize on early opportunities as the Bulldogs, who raced out to a 2-0 lead, held on late for the win.

Amanda Dailor got Asheville on the board two minutes before halftime, burying a shot from 30 yards out to make it 1-0. Six minutes into the second half, Paige Trent scored off a rebound to hand the Bulldogs a 2-0 advantage.

EKU ramped up its attack in the final 10 minutes of the game, as senior Lauren Fant pushed forward from the backline in the 82nd minute, took a pass from sophomore Taylor Perkins on a breakaway and buried a shot to cut Asheville's lead in half.

The Colonels, looking to force overtime, had several dangerous scoring opportunities in the waning minutes of the game but could not convert them.

"A lot credit goes to UNC Asheville tonight," head coach Melissa Barnes said. "They fought hard and wanted that game a bit more than we did. While we had some good individual efforts and we did some things well as a team, it has to get much better."

Sophomore Erika Wolfer played all 90 minutes in goal for EKU, making four saves.

Fant, senior Katie Collar and freshman Mikayla Brillon all went the distance on EKU's backline. Senior Nikki Donnelly, who led the Colonels with three shots in the game, played all 90 minutes up front.

EKU will play its home opener versus Western Carolina on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. The Colonels went undefeated (8-0-1) at EKU Soccer Field last season.

"We will learn from this game," Barnes noted. "And we wil move on quickly to prepare for another tough team in Western Carolina."