Box Score Game Box in PDF Format
Spartanburg, S.C. – Goalkeeper Dani Alvarado came up big with 11 saves on the night, several in sure-goal situations, and Matt Flynn scored on a free kick as USC Upstate recorded a 1-1 tie with ETSU Saturday night in A-Sun men's soccer action at County University Soccer Stadium. It was the regular season finale for both teams.
With the tie, Upstate (5-9-2) finished the A-Sun season with a 3-4-1 conference record and 10 points to lock up the No. 4 seed in the upcoming A-Sun Tournament. It will be Upstate's first A-Sun Tournament appearance in program history after moving to Division I in 2007 and becoming postseason eligible in 2009.
ETSU (6-9-3) finished the A-Sun season with a 5-2-1 record and 16 points to lock up the No. 3 seed. Upstate will face #5 Lipscomb in the first round of the tournament Wednesday being hosted by Florida Gulf Coast. FGCU won the regular season championship on Saturday with a 1-0 victory at Mercer. Mercer is the tournament's No. 2 seed with Jacksonville rounding out the seeding at No. 6 and opening tournament play against ETSU on Wednesday. FGCU and Mercer receive first round byes.
"We battled. They created a lot of chances. They are a very good team going forward. To come back from allowing an own goal and tie the game and get a point is something very difficult to do and I am very proud of our players for battling through adversity tonight," said Upstate head coach Greg Hooks.
"I told our guys at halftime to expect to work harder than they have ever worked to get a good result. This is a team that prides itself on outworking our opponents. It is really rewarding to see their work pay off. In a way, the tie was as good as a win here tonight as far as tournament seeding and I am proud of the way we battled, especially on senior night, to get a point out of tonight's match."
ETSU won the possession game early in the first half and put four shots on the board in the first 20 minutes of the game. However, none of the four shots were on goal. The best scoring opportunity the Bucs had came in the 26th minute when Matt Reed was played a ball to the far post, but his header went wide of the goal.
Just as was the case in last week's game against Mercer, Upstate came on offensively midway through the half. The Spartans began to possess the ball on ETSU's half of the field and got their first shot off in the 26th minute when Michael Rankin-Byrne (Kingston, Ontario) fired a shot that went over the bar.
The Spartans' best opportunity of the half came on a counterattack with a little more than nine minutes to play. The ball was played ahead to Dave Musambi (Ottawa, Ontario) who beat his defender on the right side, but his shot was saved by ETSU keeper Ryan Coulter. ETSU finished the half with an 8-3 lead in shots.
Upstate keeper Alvarado (Leander, Texas) came up huge just 1:32 to into the second half. He was called for a foul in the box and ETSU was awarded a penalty kick. However, the sophomore made a diving save to his left on the penalty attempt from David Geno. He came up big again with a little under 16 minutes left to play in regulation, deflecting a shot from Geno after Geno had beaten his defenders on a breakaway.
ETSU cracked the scoreboard first in the 76th minute, but no Buccaneer got credit for the goal as an Upstate defender played a header back to Alvarado. However, the header went over Alvarado and into the goal to give ETSU the 1-0 lead on an own goal. Upstate, though, did not give up and after an ETSU foul, Flynn (Greenville, S.C.) took the free kick and put the shot in the back of the net from 40 yards out to tie the game in the 84th minute.
Alvarado came up huge again in the two overtime periods to give Upstate the tie. He made a point blank save in the first overtime period to keep ETSU from scoring, then made two saves in a three-second flurry in the second overtime to deliver the tie for Upstate. It marked the third time this season that Alvarado has reached double figures in saves.
"Dani really played well tonight," said Hooks. "He made so many great saves and got banged up pretty hard in the second half. To have point blank shots saved, save a penalty and overcome an own goal, it shows a lot of character."
ETSU held a 24-8 lead in shots, placing 12 shots on goal. Upstate placed four of its shots on goal.
Follow the Spartans on your mobile device, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
