Box Score in PDF Format

Spartanburg, S.C. – USC Upstate notched a goal in each half and took a hard-fought, 2-0, victory over Presbyterian in men's soccer action Wednesday night at County University Soccer Stadium. It marked the second-straight shutout for the Spartans.

Upstate improved to 2-1-0 on the year with the win and will head to Davidson, N.C., this weekend for a tournament. The Spartans will play Appalachian State Saturday at 5:00 p.m. before facing Davidson Monday night at 7:00. Presbyterian fell to 1-3-0 on the year with the loss.

Upstate didn't take long to crack the scoreboard in the game. After Michael Rankin-Byrne (Kingston, Ontario) misfired on a shot a little more than two minutes in, he made it count two minutes later. After a Presbyterian foul, John Kadane (Garland, Texas) took the free kick from 35 yards out. His shot was deflected, but came down at the feet of Rankin-Byrne in open space and he put the 17-yard shot away in the lower left corner of the goal in the fifth-minute.

After the initial pressure from Upstate, Presbyterian paced the pace of play in the middle of the first half. The Blue Hose took five corner kicks within a 20-minute span midway through. However, the Upstate defense and goalkeeper Dani Alvarado (Leander, Texas) kept the Blue Hose off of the scoreboard.

Tevin Gage (Valrico, Fla.) took a hard shot from 15 yards out on the right that was punched over the bar by Presbyterian goalkeeper Tyler Beadle late in the first half, keeping Upstate with the one-goal advantage. Upstate and Presbyterian each took nine shots in the game, while the Blue Hose held the edge in corner kicks, 7-2.

"Presbyterian is a better team than their record indicates. I thought it was a pretty even match. They had several opportunities that just didn't go in, fortunately for us. They had seven corner kicks in the first half and five of them ended up being shots. It was a challenging game," said Upstate head coach Greg Hooks.

After the teams jockeyed for position over the first 15 minutes of the second half, Upstate made it a 2-0 game in the 60th-minute. Alvarado quickly played a long ball out to the left side and Upstate moved up-field. John Collins (Cape Cod, Mass.) played a ball off to Dylan Hoop (Hamilton, Ohio) who made a move past his defender and put a shot in the right side of the goal.

"Dylan is such a good player on the ball. He may not have the most speed, but he has the ability to take players on and beat them. As a coach, I can tell you, that is a nightmare," said Hooks.

From Hoop's goal to the rest of the match, the teams continued to battle. Each team had a couple of scoring opportunities, but nothing found the back of the net as Upstate finished with a 2-0 win.

Upstate and Presbyterian finished even in shots, 12-12. However, Presbyterian held a 9-5 lead in corner kicks. Alvarado finished the game with five saves, while Beadle tallied four for the Blue Hose.

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