Upstate Takes On Wofford, Furman This Weekend
9/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Sept. 16, 2008
Complete Game Notes in PDF Format 
Spartanburg, S.C. - USC Upstate will play in its second straight weekend tournament Friday and Sunday, traveling 3.5 miles down Pine Street to Wofford College to take part in the Wofford/Nike Soccer Classic. The Spartans will open the tournament against the host Terriers on Friday night at 7:30 and will conclude the tournament Sunday afternoon at 1:00 against the Furman Paladins.
The tournament marks the first time in 20 years that Upstate and Wofford will meet for an official game. Upstate and Furman have not played each other in 19 years. Upstate holds an 8-2-0 lead in the series over Wofford. The Spartans and Terriers first met on Sept. 15, 1980, in Upstate's first season of soccer. The Terriers claimed a 3-2 win in overtime at Upstate. Wofford also won the next season before the Spartans rattled off eight straight wins, culminating in a 4-0 win at Upstate on Sept. 14, 1988, the last time the two teams have met on the field.
Upstate and Furman stand deadlocked at 3-3-1 in the series. The teams first played on Sept. 23, 1980, a 2-1 win by Furman at Upstate. The teams last met on Sept. 6, 1989, a 4-3 win by Furman at Upstate. Upstate last claimed a victory in the series on Oct. 29, 1988, a 2-1 victory in Greenville.
Looking Back At The Wingate Inn Classic
Upstate traveled to Rock Hill last weekend to take part in the Wingate Inn Classic hosted by Winthrop at the Winthrop University Soccer Complex. The results coming out of the tournament were not what the Spartans wanted as Upstate dropped a pair of 3-0 decisions to Winthrop and Gardner-Webb. Patrick Regna, Erkan Yildirim and Timo Foerster were named to the all-tournament team for their play over the weekend.
In both games, Upstate received tremendous play in goal from Patrick Regna. He kept Winthrop off of the scoreboard until the Eagles were awarded a penalty kick and converted the try. Midway through the second half, the Spartans suffered a defensive breakdown and took a 3-0 loss. After Regna was removed from the game with under eight minutes to play in the first half, Gardner-Webb capitalized with three goals in the final 53 minutes to take the 3-0 win, its first against Upstate in the six-game series between the two schools.
Hooks Reaches Milestone Victory
On the way to win No. 300, Upstate head coach Greg Hooks has reached a milestone by winning his 275th game in his 21-year career as a head coach at Upstate. Hooks is now 25 wins away from reaching the 300-win plateau. In addition, he has won 188 games in his 14 years at Upstate and is just 12 shy of reaching the 200-win plateau at the University.
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 eight different countries including the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Hungary, Norway, Peru and Trinidad. The mix of cultures and playing styles is always a concern early in preseason training, but the kinks, along with communication, typically get worked out by the beginning of the season. Of the 27 players listed on the roster, 14 are from foreign nations.
Garcev Looking To Return
Sophomore forward/midfielder Alex Garcev looks to return after missing nearly all of the last three games with a muscle strain in his leg. Garcev strained his muscle just minutes into the game at Georgia State and was forced to sit out the remainder of that match, as well as the two games at Winthrop. Garcev and Upstate head athletics trainer and Associate AD for Sports Medicine Sandy Sandago have aggressively treated the injury with the hopes of a return to the field Friday.
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 56-12-3 at the friendly confines of County University Soccer Stadium for a winning percentage of .810. Overall, Upstate is 224-45-13 at home for an .817 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 275-90-23 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.
