Upstate Plays Final Home Games This Week
10/20/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 20, 2008
Upstate enters the weekend with a 1-12-0 overall record and a 0-5-0 mark in the A-Sun. The Spartans look for their first A-Sun win of the season this weekend as Upstate will honor seniors Peter Davis, Justin Gill and David Stanbra prior to Saturday's home finale.
Campbell enters the weekend with a 8-5-0 overall record and sits atop the A-Sun with a perfect 6-0-0 mark and 18 points. Upstate and Campbell have played just three times prior to Thursday's meeting. The Camels own a 2-1 advantage over the Spartans. Campbell took a 1-0 victory over Upstate in Buies Creek last season. Josue Soto leads the Camels in scoring with 12 points on three goals and six assists. Three other players have scored in double figures this season with Khalil Johnson and Jason Keever tied for the lead with five goals each. Aaron Johnson has seen all of the action in goal this season and owns a 1.14 goals against average.
Mercer enters the weekend with a 1-8-4 overall record and a 1-3-2 mark with five points in the A-Sun. Upstate and Mercer have played twice prior to Saturday's game. The series stands at 1-1. The Bears took a 3-0 win in Macon, Ga., last year, while Upstate won the inaugural meeting in 1982 by a 4-0 decision. Bolade Ogunmade leads the Bears in scoring with 12 points on six goals. David Bird has seen all of the action in goal this season. He owns a 1.93 goals against average.
Looking Back At ETSU
Upstate was looking for its first overtime win since moving to NCAA Division I last year and looked to have the momentum heading into overtime, but ETSU took the kickoff and scored the game winner just 11 seconds into the extra period to take a 2-1 win Sunday night.
After a scoreless first half, ETSU came out quickly in the second half, scoring the first goal of the game just 24 seconds into the half to open a 1-0 lead. Upstate countered when Ben Brannan laced a powerful shot from 45 yards out that found the back of the net in the 74th minute to tie the game and send it into overtime.
And The Hits Just Keep On Coming
Injuries have plagued the Spartans' defense this year and the latest just might be the biggest of all as starting goalkeeper Patrick Regna is out indefinitely while battling a serious infection that required a hospital stay over the weekend. Regna's illness is just the latest in a string of injuries that have hurt Upstate this season.
Senior central defender Nick Buxton will miss the remainder of the season with a pulled muscle in his leg and has announced his intention of applying for a medical redshirt for next year. He has not played since the Sept. 12 game at Winthrop. Christian Peterson has missed two of the last four games as nagging injuries have caught up with him. Philip Soppa was accidentally kicked in the head in the Sept. 21 game against Furman and broke two bones in his cheek which has required season-ending surgery. In addition, a variety of players, in the defense and all over the field, have dealt with injuries throughout the season, including midfielder Alex Garcev who missed Sunday's game against ETSU with an illness.
Spartans Strong At Home
Since moving into County University Soccer Stadium, the Upstate men's soccer program has been tough to beat. Actually, since the inception of the program in 1980, the Spartans have been stout on the Spartanburg campus. Upstate is an impressive 56-16-3 at the friendly confines of County University Soccer Stadium for a winning percentage of .767. Overall, Upstate is 224-49-13 at home for an .806 winning percentage in Spartanburg. Upstate played its first season in the quad behind the Administrative Building prior to moving to historic Rifle Field in 1981. The Spartans (then, the Rifles) tallied a 162-30-10 record for an .802 winning percentage at Rifle Field.
Hooks An Accomplished Field Leader
USC Upstate head coach Greg Hooks has had an accomplished 21-year coaching career. He has a career record of 275-99-23 with coaching stints at Spartanburg Methodist (1985), Lees-McRae (1986-87), University of Charleston (1991-94) and USC Upstate (1995-present). He started the programs at both Lees-McRae and University of Charleston, leading both programs to national rankings. He took over the Upstate program in 1995 and coached the team to an appearance in the NCAA Division II National Championship game and returned the team to the title game in 1998. He has led Upstate to 188 victories, five Peach Belt Conference regular season championships, six Peach Belt Conference Tournament titles, and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Hooks ended his reign in NCAA Division II as the division's second winningest coach all-time and currently ranks 20th all-time in the history of the NCAA, regardless of division standing.
Spartan Soccer - A Story Of Success
While the USC Upstate Athletics Department has had a storied history of success throughout its existence, the men's soccer program has achieved success on a more consistent level than any other program at the University. Upstate men's soccer finished third in the NAIA National Tournament three straight years from 1983-85 and made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances in 16 years in the NCAA Division II. The Spartans claimed seven regular season Peach Belt Conference championships, nine Peach Belt Conference Tournament titles, and advanced to the championship game of the league tournament 14 times in 16 years.
