Women's Soccer Plays Three Games in Six Days
9/26/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Soccer
Sept. 26, 2007
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SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate will face one of the toughest parts of the schedule this week with three games in six days beginning on Monday night at Radford before returning home for their first-ever Atlantic Sun Conference match against Jacksonville Friday night and another home conference game against North Florida Sunday afternoon. Upstate will have a similar stretch to close out the season the week of Oct. 28 when it travels to Florida Gulf Coast that day, hosts Coastal Carolina Oct. 31 in the final home game of the season and travels to East Tennessee State Nov. 3 for the regular season finale.
Both weekend games will be available on: A-Sun Sports TV
Upstate 0-1 in Last Week's Play
USC Upstate twice battled back from one-goal deficits, but a goal by The Citadel forward Jessa Scott in the 80th minute gave the Bulldogs the lead for good as the Spartans fell, 3-2, at Washington Light Infantry Field in Charleston, S.C. Falling behind 1-0 early in the first half, Upstate tied the game at 1-1 on a goal by sophomore forward Melissa Kuhar in the 42nd minute to tie the game at 1-1. The Citadel retook the lead at 2-1 in the 62nd minute, but Kuhar led the Spartans to another tying goal, this one in the 67th minute to tie it at 2-2. Sophomore midfielder Santana DeFreitas and freshman defender Meg Korpita each had an assist and junior goalkeeper Samantha Spradley made six saves.
Welcome to the Atlantic Sun
On Friday, Sept. 28, Upstate women's soccer will make a little bit of history by playing in its first Atlantic Sun Conference match when The Spartans will take on Jacksonville at 7 p.m. at County University Soccer Stadium. Upstate will look to have the same success in its first foray into the A-Sun as it had in its first game as a member of Division I earlier this season when the Spartans defeated S.C. State, 5-1.
New Conference, Old Foe
USC Upstate may be new to the Atlantic Sun Conference, but on Sunday, Sept. 30, it will face an old rival for the first time since 2004 when North Florida comes to County University Soccer Stadium for a 2 p.m. game. Upstate and UNF are both former members of the Peach Belt Conference in NCAA Division II having previously met in eight games. In the last meeting between the schools on Nov. 6, 2004 in the Peach Belt Conference Tournament semifinals, the game was a 0-0 tie after two overtimes and went to a shootout. North Florida went on to win in the shootout, 5-4. Upstate, however, leads the series between the schools, 4-3-1, and four of those meetings have been decided by one goal.
Upstate Successful at County University Soccer Stadium
Since County University Soccer Stadium was opened in 2001, USC Upstate has had a history of success at home. Upstate is 33-13-6 all-time at County University Soccer Stadium with a winning percentage of .692. The Spartans were 10-1-0 at home during the first season of play at County University Soccer Stadium in 2001, winning the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship. Since the program began in 2000, Upstate is 35-20-7 at home (.621 winning percentage).
Kuhar Gets Her Kicks
USC Upstate sophomore forward Melissa Kuhar is not suffering the so-called "sophomore jinx". It been the opposite for Kuhar, who has four goals, one assist, and nine points through five games this season, tied with teammate junior forward Nicole Trawick for the team lead in goals and points. Kuhar notched her first career multi-goal game last Friday at The Citadel when she scored both of the Spartans goals in a 3-2 loss to the Bulldogs. Also, Kuhar has already surpassed her goal and point totals from her freshman year in 2006 when she scored three goals and had eight points. Kuhar leads the Spartans in shots with 20.
Striking Quickly
USC Upstate has wasted little time in getting onto the scoreboard in the first half. So far this season, Upstate has outscored their opponents in the first half, 10-3, scoring in the first half in four out of five games this season and scored the first goal of the game in four of five contests as well. Upstate is 2-2 this season when scoring first and has held the lead in every game except the game against The Citadel on Sept. 21.
Reyes There From the Start
Not many coaches can say they were there when a women's soccer program was started and when it made its transition to Division I. USC Upstate head coach Kendall Reyes is the only women's soccer head coach in school history, arriving along with the program in 2000. Reyes has compiled a 65-59-13 record in eight seasons including a Peach Belt Conference regular season championship in 2001 and three seasons of 12 wins or more (2001, 2003, 2004). He was also named Peach Belt Conference Coach of the Year in 2001. In March 2007, Reyes was appointed to the position of State Technical Coordinator for Coaching Education by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA). He is the first and only person of color to hold the position in the organization. In addition, he was also appointed as an NSCAA National Staff Instructor in the summer of 2007.
