Nov. 2, 2008

Box Score

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The Upstate women's soccer team played their final game of the 2008 season on Sunday afternoon against the Radford Highlanders, the second-place finisher in the Big South Conference. The Highlanders displayed their talent on the field to earn their 11th win of the season with a 2-0 victory over Upstate.

The Highlanders took the early advantage with 25:05 left to play in the first-half, as junior Justine Dugger recovered a loose and unclaimed ball on the Spartan defensive end. She then passed to Kathleen Jarvis, who scored her third goal of the season with a shot into the bottom left corner of the net beyond Spradley's reach.

Jarvis was back again 12 minutes later as she scored her second goal of the game. The sophomore from Tennessee put a powerful touch on a left-foot kick from beyond the penalty box that sailed over Spradley's head, giving the Highlanders the 2-0 lead that they would not relinquish.

The Upstate women came back stronger and prepared in the second half, limiting Radford to 7 shots compared to the 14 they had in the first half. Spradley earned six saves on the day for the Spartans, who put together five shots.

"I thought that our second-half performance was much better in terms of our effort after such a long and tough season to come back and try to find a way to play," said head coach Kendall Reyes. "At halftime, we talked about giving the effort we knew we were capable of. Radford played well today and I commend them on that."

The Spartans conclude the season with an overall 3-16 record and a 1-9 record in Atlantic Sun Conference play. Last year in their first season of Division I play after transferring from the Peach Belt Conference, the Spartans finished similarly with a 3-15 overall record and a 1-10 record in the A-Sun.

"I never like the season to end, I always want it to continue and get better," Reyes said. "We'll continue to build and grow on what we did this year next spring. I'm disappointed that we finished at the bottom of the conference in terms of results, but when you go back and reflect on the games, you can see that we're comparable to many of the teams, top to bottom. In many games, the difference is who scores the first goal or one small play that a player makes. It's just a matter of being able to time the hurdles we ran into this year. Hopefully, our experience in our second year of Division I play will give us more confidence for next year. I look forward to taking the next step in our third year."

The loss prevented Reyes from clinching his 70th-career win as the head coach at Upstate, as he will now go into the 2009 season one win shy of 70 during his campaign in Spartanburg. However, Reyes remains optimistic for improvement and growth next season.

Senior Samantha Spradley was honored before the game in celebrating "Senior Day" festivities. She recorded 28 saves in six games throughout the season, including six saves today. In her junior year at Upstate, she recorded a team-high 93 saves, playing in and starting 12 games. She recorded the win in Upstate's first Division I game on Sept. 1 against S.C. State, and later recorded her first career shutout in the Spartan's first A-Sun Conference win on Oct. 11 over Campbell. Before coming to Upstate, Spradley played two seasons at Young Harris College, where she was named the Most Valuable Goalkeeper at the 2006 Junior College National Championships.