Upstate Plays Music City Sunday Afternoon in Battle Against Lipscomb
10/19/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Complete Release in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. - Upstate Plays Music City Sunday Afternoon in Battle Against Lipscomb
The USC Upstate men's soccer team will be back in action Sunday afternoon in a key A-Sun battle against Lipscomb in Nashville, Tenn. The match is slated for a 2:00 p.m. Central, 3:00 p.m. Eastern start time.
Upstate will enter Sunday's match with a 2-2-0 mark with six points in the A-Sun. The Spartans are fifth in the A-Sun standings and in the No. 4 position for the A-Sun Tournament with Northern Kentucky not eligible to compete during its transition period to Division I. Upstate's match at Lipscomb is key because the Bisons are one of three teams with three points in the league standings, just three points behind Upstate. The Spartans are 4-7-1 overall.
Lipscomb plays host to Stetson Friday night at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. The Bisons enter the weekend with a 4-9-0 overall record and a 1-2-0 mark with three points in the A-Sun. Upstate is 2-3-0 all-time against Lipscomb in a series that dates back to the 2007 season. Upstate ended a three-game losing streak to the Bisons with a 3-1 victory in Spartanburg last season. Both of Upstate's wins in the series have come at County University Soccer Stadium.
Fans can follow the action online at upstatespartans.com with links to free live video and free live stats. A complete game recap and statistics will be available following the completion of the game.
Looking Back at Florida Gulf Coast and Stetson
Upstate took another tough one-goal loss at Florida Gulf Coast last Friday, but rallied to score an impressive 3-0 victory at Stetson last Sunday to remain in contention for one of six spots in the upcoming A-Sun Tournament. FGCU attacked early and often in the match on Friday, out-shooting the Spartans 8-2 in the first half. However, only two of the shots were on goal. One of the shots was put in by Rodrigo Saravia in the 28th minute in what would eventually be the game winner. Upstate out-shot FGCU 5-4 in the second half, but couldn't get anything by the Eagles' keeper as FGCU held on for the 1-0 victory. In what was a must-win situation on Sunday, Upstate scored three unanswered goals in the second half at Stetson to take a 3-0 victory and secure its sixth point in the A-Sun standings. Marvin Schmiege tallied a goal and assist, assisting on the match winner on Derek Dearmond's goal and scoring the second goal of the contest.
Tourney Time is Drawing Near
With four A-Sun games in the books and four remaining on the schedule, each contest can prove to be key in the battle for one of the six spots in the A-Sun Tournament. Currently, Upstate sits in sole possession of fourth place in the league tournament standings with six points. Northern Kentucky, which is fourth overall with seven points, is ineligible for the A-Sun Tournament in its transition years to Division I. The Spartans are six points away from the top spot owned by Mercer (4-0-0, 12 points). However, Upstate owns a three-point advantage over three teams which have three points. Lipscomb (1-2-0), Stetson (1-2-0) and Jacksonville (1-4-0) are all tied for the fifth position for the tournament. Lipscomb plays host to Stetson on Friday and Upstate on Sunday. The results of those two contests should have a major impact on Lipscomb's viability for the postseason, while also having ramifications for the rest of the league standings. The road doesn't get any easier for Upstate following the game at Lipscomb on Sunday. The Spartans will play three teams currently ahead of them in the league standings, hosting Mercer (Oct. 28) and ETSU (Nov. 3), while traveling to Northern Kentucky (Oct. 31).
