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Ft. Myers, Fla. – Despite a solid defensive effort, USC Upstate could not overcome a goal midway through the first half and dropped a 1-0 decision to Lipscomb in the first round of the A-Sun Tournament Wednesday night at the FGCU Soccer Complex.
Upstate, which entered the A-Sun Tournament as the No. 4 seed, ends its season with a 5-10-2 overall record. The Spartans finished the regular season with a 3-4-1 mark with 10 points in the conference. Lipscomb is the No. 5 seed in the tournament. The Bisons improved to 7-11-1 on the season and advance to face the No. 1 seed in the tournament, Florida Gulf Coast, Friday night at 7:00.
"Lipscomb scored a good goal and made it hold up," said Upstate head coach Greg Hooks. "Our guys gave a great effort. I am very proud that we advanced to the conference tournament. It bodes well for the future and, hopefully, next year we can take this experience and build on it."
Upstate managed to only get off five shots on the night as Lipscomb clamped down on Upstate's offensive attack which was playing without the services of Dylan Hoop (Hamilton, Ohio). Hoop suffered a broken leg on a foul in the regular season finale against ETSU last Saturday.
Lipscomb, meanwhile, took 10 shots and placed seven on goal. Upstate goalkeeper Dani Alvarado (Leander, Texas) turned in a solid night and finished the game with six saves. However, it was a Lipscomb goal in the 31st minute that spelled the difference in the game.
With Lipscomb on the attack, Jeremy Reid played a pass to Tyler Burkhardt on the right side of the box. Burkhardt fired a shot into the upper left 90 to give the Bisons a 1-0 lead. It would hold up the rest of the half and the rest of the match to give Lipscomb the win.
Upstate ended what was its best season since joining Division I in 2007. The Spartans tied the Division I era school record with five wins, broke its wins record in A-Sun play with three, and recorded double digit points for the first time in the A-Sun standings with 10 on the year (three wins, one tie). Upstate also scored more goals this season (18) than in any other year on the Division I level. John Kadane (Garland, Texas) and Dave Musambi (Ottawa, Ontario) were named to the all-conference team and Alvarado earned two A-Sun Defensive Player of the Week selections throughout the season.
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