Upstate Heads To Music City For Two A-Sun Games
10/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Oct. 8, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate hits the road for the first time in A-Sun play this season as the Spartans will travel to Music City, Nashville, Tenn., for a pair of games this weekend against Belmont and Lipscomb.
Upstate enters the weekend with a 1-9-0 overall record and a 0-2-0 mark in the A-Sun. The Spartans' nine-game losing streak is the longest in school history, eclipsing last year's eight-game skid to start the season. Belmont enters Friday's game with a 5-4-1 overall record and a 0-0-1 mark with one point in the A-Sun. The game will be played at 2:00 p.m. Eastern, 1:00 p.m. Central time at the Brentwood High School soccer field. Lipscomb enters the weekend with a 4-5-2 overall record and a 0-0-1 mark with one point in the A-Sun. Sunday's game will begin at 3:30 p.m. Eastern, 2:30 p.m. Central. Fans can get live statistical updates via Lipscomb's athletics Web site at Live Stats
Upstate's best week last season came when Belmont and Lipscomb came to County University Soccer Stadium. The Spartans opened the weekend with a 4-2 win over Lipscomb and finished off the weekend with a 3-2 win over Belmont. The back-to-back A-Sun wins led to the first two weekly conference awards being dished out to Upstate players as Troy Simon was named the A-Sun Player of the Week, while Jason McCabe was named the A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week.
Looking Back At Last Weekend - Dolphins & Ospreys
Upstate battled Jacksonville to start the weekend festivities of two A-Sun games, and the game went down to the final minutes before the Dolphins squeaked out a 3-2 win. Upstate held a pair of one-goal leads before Jacksonville answered with two second half goals to take the win.
The emotion displayed Friday night seemingly took its toll on the Spartans Sunday as Upstate allowed two second half goals and did not capitalize on its scoring opportunities to drop a 3-0 decision to North Florida. The loss gave Upstate's its school record ninth loss in a row.
Breaking Out Of The Scoring Slump
Despite Upstate's lack of scoring to start the season, the Spartans have shown the ability to find the back of the net recently, scoring three goals in the last three games after going five games without cracking the scoreboard.
Upstate broke its scoring streak with a goal in the 3-1 loss to Presbyterian and scored two goals in the heartbreaking 3-2 loss to Jacksonville last Friday. Erkan Yildirim and Alex Garcev lead the team with two goals apiece this season, while Yildirim is the team's overall leading scorer with six points on two goals and two assists.
Looking For A No-No
Since moving to the NCAA DI level a year ago, the Upstate men's soccer team has posted several NCAA DI firsts. However, the Spartans have yet to record a shutout in the young DI era. In addition to looking for its first DI shutout, the Spartans are also looking for their first DI tie.
Multi-National Team Takes The Field
USC Upstate is no stranger to having international players on its men's soccer team and the 2008 version of the Spartans is no different. Players on the team represent seven different countries including the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Norway, Peru and Trinidad. Of the 25 players listed on the roster, 11 are from foreign nations.
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 56-15-3 at the friendly confines of County University Soccer Stadium for a winning percentage of .777. Overall, Upstate is 224-48-13 at home for an .809 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 275-96-23 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.
