Box Score STATESBORO, Ga. – In the season opener
for both the USC Upstate men's soccer team and the Georgia
Southern Eagles, the home standing Eagles claimed a 4-3 victory on
Wednesday afternoon at Eagle Field.
Upstate got on the board first when Hakeem King (Port of Spain,
Trindad/St. Mary's College) scored in the
25th-minute on a header of off Timo Foerster's
(Oberkirk, Germany/Hans Furler Gymnasium) corner kick from the left
side.
GSU tied the score at 1-1 when Ethan LaPan scored on a give and
go from the right side of the box. LaPan's goal came in the
32nd-minute and the two teams remained tied at 1-1 at
intermission.
In the second half, both teams came out firing with two shots
finding the back of the net in the first two minutes of the
period. The Eagles took a 2-1 lead after just 38 seconds when
Rich Heyer scored on a pass from Thomas Valikonis.
The Spartans tied the score at 2-2 when John Kadane's
(Garland, Texas/John Paul II) header found the back of the
net. Kadane was assisted on the play by Timo Foerster at the
46:42 mark.
Senior Jason McCabe (Irmo, S.C./Dutch Fork) made a tremendous
save as he dove to the left in the 52nd-minute, denying
Jon Cox's penalty shot. McCabe finished the match with
three saves, all of which came in the final period. GSU
keeper Ryan Platt tallied five saves in the match.
Upstate took the lead when John Collins (Cape Cod,
Mass./Barnstable) found the back of the net in the
53rd-minute. Collins delivered the header off of
Foerster's third assist of the match.
The back and forth affair continued as GSU tied the match at 3-3
when Witt Carlisle scored in the 67th-minute. In
the 82nd-minute, Carlisle scored again and put the
Eagles ahead for good, 4-3.
GSU owned a 15-12 advantage in shots, but Upstate owned the
advantage in shots on-goal (8-7). Upstate was called for 15
fouls and one offsides penalty compared to nine fouls and two
offsides for the Eagles.
Upstate will return to action on Saturday when it returns to the
state of Georgia. The Spartans will battle with the Georgia
State Panthers in Atlanta for a 7:00 p.m. kick.
