Upstate Set for First A-Sun Tournament Appearance, Opens Tourney Against Lipscomb
11/6/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
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Spartanburg, S.C. - It's tourney time for the USC Upstate men's soccer team as the Spartans will hit the road as one of six schools battling for the A-Sun Tournament Championship beginning Wednesday at the FGCU Soccer Complex in Fort Myers, Fla. Upstate opens the tournament against No. 5 seed Lipscomb at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday night.
Upstate earned its first-ever tournament berth in the A-Sun Tournament after finishing the season with a 3-4-1 record and 10 points in the league standings to lock down the No. 4 seed. It marks the first time that Upstate has reached double digits in point totals in the conference standings. Prior to this season, the Spartans had battled to be in the tournament only to fall out of contention during the final weekend of the season in two of the last three years. This year, though, Upstate was up to the task and earned the #4 seed in a head-to-head tiebreaker with Lipscomb, Upstate's opponent in the first round.
Upstate claimed a 1-0 victory over Lipscomb on the road in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 21. It ended up being the crucial win for the Spartans as Upstate closed out the season 0-2-1 over the last three games following the win over the Bisons. Overall, Upstate is 3-3-0 all-time against Lipscomb and is even at 10-10 in goals scored in the series.
The winner of the game between Upstate and Lipscomb will face No. 1 seed Florida Gulf Coast Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in the second semifinal of the tournament. FGCU earned the regular season championship and the top seed with a 1-0 victory over Mercer on the road last Saturday. Mercer stands as the No. 2 seed and will play the winner of the first round match between #3 ETSU and #6 Jacksonville.
Fans can follow the tournament action online in a variety of ways. All games of the tournament will be broadcast on ASun.TV for free. Free live statistics will also be available. Links to video and live stats, as well as complete game recaps and statistics, will be available at upstatespartans.com.
