Box Score (PDF)

Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate women's soccer team snapped a two-match losing streak and set a school record in the process on its way to a thrilling 1-0 victory over Jacksonville Friday evening from County University Soccer Stadium.

Upstate picked up its fourth win of the season to set the school record for wins in a season during the division I era, surpassing the previous record of three set during the 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2012 seasons. The victory was also the first-ever win over Jacksonville, as the Spartans entered the contest 0-6-0 all-time versus the Dolphins.

Spartan senior keeper Sarah Plantz finished with eight saves and earned her fifth shutout of the season and upped her career total to 308 and needs just 21 more to move into the top-10 all-time in A-Sun history. The Cartersville, Ga., native made several spectacular saves throughout the contest to keep one of the most powerful offensives in the conference scoreless. In fact, it's only the second time this season Jacksonville has been shutout and the first in conference play.

"I am really pleased with the way the girls played tonight," Upstate head coach Abby Minihan said. "They played hard for 90 minutes and they stayed organized for 90 minutes. They have been striving and fighting to get better and we've had some good results and bad results, but this was a fabulous result for us because we beat a really good team."

Jacksonville controlled the majority of the possession during the first half, but USC Upstate took full advantage of its chances when on the offensive attack. With the ball near midfield and in Jacksonville possession, Spartan sophomore Kenzie Major intercepted a Dolphin pass and took a few dribbles toward the Jacksonville net before delivering a perfect through ball to the feet of a streaking Rachel Carr. Carr obtained possession just outside the Jacksonville box and was tackled seconds later as she made her way inside the box.

Head referee Eric Usher immediately called a foul on the Jacksonville defense and awarded the Spartans with a penalty kick. Senior Rebecca Sanzsole was called upon the take the kick and she fired a shot into the right corner of the net to give Upstate a 1-0 lead in the 31st minute and pick up her first goal of the season in the process.

The Dolphins continued to attack the Upstate defense throughout the second half, using counter attack after counter attack to set up scoring opportunities. Marie Weckhurst had one of the best scoring chances of the night midway through the second half, but Plantz made a diving stop to her right to secure the ball and preserve the Spartan lead.

Sarah Moghadas had the final real scoring threat for the Dolphins with just under three minutes remaining in regulation. Moghadas sent a blast from the right side of the field that knifed through the Upstate defense and headed towards the Spartan goal. Her shot, however, sailed just wide and out of play.

"I never look at results because I prefer to focus more on what we need to do each game and each day in practice," Minihan said. "We have an outlook on our team where we only focus on the here and now. We're not thinking about what happened last week, but we're thinking about what we can do now to get better. It always feels great to make history, and I'm really proud of the girls because they have earned it and they deserve it."

Upstate closes its home schedule Sunday at 1 p.m. when the Spartans welcome North Florida to County University Soccer Stadium for Senior Day.

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