Box Score (Box Score (PDF) | Highlights
Spartanburg, S.C. – In a crosstown rivalry game that saw the teams combine for 24 shots, both USC Upstate and Wofford held on to finish in a scoreless tie Sunday afternoon in non-conference women's soccer action at County University Soccer Stadium.
Upstate stands 1-0-1 on the year, opening the season with its best two-game start in the history of the program. The Spartans will hit the road for its next match, taking UNC Asheville on Thursday. Wofford stands 0-1-1 to start the year.
"Anytime you can get a good result against a good team – and Wofford is a good team – it is always a positive," said Upstate head coach Abby Minihan. "I know we are disappointed. We had some opportunities to put the game away and just couldn't convert. So, there is an air of feeling good with the result, but also being disappointed."
Upstate and Wofford engaged in what could be considered a defensive battle in the first half of play. The Terriers owned a 4-3 lead in shots with four of the seven shots being placed on goal. Wofford goalkeeper Kimberly Cohn made three saves on Upstate shots, while Spartan keeper Sarah Plantz (Cartersville, Ga.) was forced to make one. Most of the play came about in the middle of the field with not much pressure being placed on either team's defense.
Upstate had its top scoring opportunity of the first half when Kenzie Major (Rome, Ga.) got off a solid shot that was saved by Cohn in the 11th minute. Her shot was taken from 15 yards out. Wofford's top scoring opportunity came in the ninth minute when Emily Gaid got off a shot that was saved by Plantz.
The second half presented many more scoring opportunities for both teams. Early in the second half of play, Cohn came up big in the 49th minute, coming off her line to thwart a solid opportunity for Upstate. Haley Gethin (Cocoa Beach, Fla.) was played a ball from the back and looked to run it down with Cohn charging off her line. Cohn slid in to barely grab the ball before Gethin has an opportunity to get a touch, preventing the Spartan from gaining control with an open net.
Upstate looked like it would finally crack the scoreboard in the 65th minute, but Cohn made a huge save with her right foot. Rachel Carr (Rockford, Ill.) gained control of the ball in the midfield and played a pass forward to Major. Major drew two defenders and slid a pass back to Carr who was one-on-one with Cohn. She pounded a shot toward goal and Cohn managed to stick her foot out and get a piece of the ball to save the shot and keep the score at 0-0.
Upstate nearly found the net again, this time in the 71st minute. After a Wofford foul about 35 yards out on the left side, Rebecca Sanzsole (Kitchener, Ontario) took the free kick. She played a ball into the center of the box where the ball was redirected on a header. The ball came down and Gethin took the shot from four yards out, but it went over the cross bar for a goal kick.
With time winding down, Carr nearly put the Spartans ahead again. She took three different Wofford defenders on and beat them all, eventually going one-on-one with Cohn. However, her shot from 16 yards out on a line just sailed over the goal to keep the game scoreless with under six minutes to play.
The teams finished regulation play tied at 9-9 in shots. Wofford, though, had six corner kicks to Upstate's 0.
Carr got the best scoring opportunity in the first half, coming in the fifth minute of the first overtime period. Her line drive shot again just sailed over the crossbar. Less than a minute later, Upstate had a free kick from 19 yards out and the shot was deflected by a Wofford defender for a Spartan corner kick. On the corner kick, Rebecca Sanzsole's header went over the goal.
Plantz made a huge play with two minutes to play in the first overtime period. Mary Beth Bleekrode got behind the Upstate defense and fired a shot from five yards out. Plantz made a diving save to her left to keep the Terriers out of the net, sending the game to a second overtime period.
While both teams attempted to frantically get the game-winning goal, neither team could muster a truly solid scoring effort in the second overtime period and the game ended in a 0-0 tie. Upstate finished the match with a 14-11 lead in shots. Plantz finished the game with two saves for her first shutout of the season, while Cohn made five saves for Wofford.
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