Upstate Hosts Mercer On Senior Day
10/24/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 24, 2008
Complete Upstate vs. Mercer Game Notes in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. - Upstate closes out the home portion of its schedule Saturday against Mercer on Senior Day at County University Soccer Stadium. Fans not in attendance at the game can watch the action live on ASun.TV and get live statistical updates using Gametracker via the official Upstate Athletics Web site at www.upstatespartans.com.
Upstate enters Saturday's game on a school record 13-game losing streak, standing 1-13-0 overall and 0-6-0 in the A-Sun. Mercer comes into Saturday's contest with a 1-8-5 overall record and a 1-3-3 mark with six points in the league. Upstate and Mercer have played just twice in the series, with each team taking a win. The Bears took a 3-0 victory last year in Macon, Ga.
Erkan Yildirim and Alex Garcev lead the Spartans in scoring with six points apiece. Both players have scored two goals and added two assists on the year. Peter Davis has stepped into the starting lineup as Upstate's goalkeeper and owns a 2.28 goals against average.
Bolade Ogunmade leads Mercer in scoring with 14 points on seven goals. He notched the game-winning goal in the 4-1 win over Florida Gulf Coast on Oct. 2. David Bird has seen all of the action in goal for the Bears. He owns a 1.91 goals against average.
Looking Back At Campbell
After playing an inspired first half of soccer Thursday night at County University Soccer Stadium, the Upstate defense gave up three second half goals as A-Sun frontrunner Campbell took a 3-0 victory over the Spartans.
Upstate played its most complete half of the season in the first half against Campbell, limiting the Camels to just four shots in the first 45 minutes of play and nearly scoring a goal in the opening half. However, Campbell started quickly, scoring in the first three minutes of the second half and put two more goals on the board to take the win.
Saturday Is Senior Day
Saturday is a special day at Upstate as the Upstate family says thank you to three Spartan seniors who are playing the final home game of their careers. Seniors Peter Davis, Justin Gill and David Stanbra will be honored in a pregame ceremony.
Davis has been a solid keeper for Upstate after transferring to the University from Spartanburg Methodist College in 2006. Playing behind All-American Ryan Cooper, Davis saw action in four games and finished the year with a 2-0-0 record and a 1.62 goals against average in helping lead the Spartans into the NCAA DII Tournament in the school's final year of DII membership in 2006. He missed last season and received a medical redshirt after sitting out the year upon having surgery to repair a torn ACL in his knee. He returned to the field this season and, despite dealing with discomfort in his knee, has played in four games with a 2.28 goals against average.
Gill has been a key role player for the Spartans since coming to Upstate in 2005. He has seen action in nine matches in his career, including a career-high six this season. As a senior, he has emerged as an important reserve and spot starter in the back for the Spartans.
Stanbra has been a mainstay in the lineup since his freshman season in 2005. He had a breakout year as a sophomore in 2006, finishing the season with 14 points on six goals and two assists to help lead the Spartans into the NCAA DII Tournament in the school's final year playing on the DII level. He has played in 56 games in his career and owns 17 career points.
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 56-17-3 at the friendly confines of County University Soccer Stadium for a winning percentage of .756. Overall, Upstate is 224-50-13 at home for an .803 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 275-100-23 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.
