Upstate Travels to FGCU Saturday for Road Finale
10/21/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's soccer team hits the road for the final time this season as the Spartans head to Fort Myers, Fla. Saturday evening to face the 11th-ranked Florida Gulf Coast Eagles at 7 p.m. from the FGCU Soccer Complex.
Upstate currently sits at 3-8 on the season and 1-3 in ASUN play after falling to NJIT 1-0 last Saturday in Spartanburg. Santiago Restrepo grabbed a career-high nine saves in net for the Spartans, while Tim Lück led the team offensively with a career-high four shots and Cam Philpot had two attempts on-goal.
Florida Gulf Coast enters the contest ranked 11th nationally in the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Top 25 Poll. The Eagles have an overall record of 10-3-1 this year and 2-1 in the conference after falling 3-2 at home on Tuesday to North Florida. FGCU is under the direction of 10th-year head coach Bob Butehorn.
Upstate and Florida Gulf Coast are meeting for the 11th time in program history on Saturday with the Eagles holding an 8-1-1 lead in the all-time series. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Spartans advanced to their first-ever ASUN Tournament championship game with a 4-3 overtime victory at FGCU in the semifinals. Michelangelo Dovidio won the game for Upstate with his golden goal in the first overtime period and Lukas Sommer also added a goal in the first half.
Fans can follow the action on www.upstatespartans.com via live stats. The match is being streamed on ASUN.TV. Updates will also be posted on the Upstate men's soccer Twitter page (@UpstateMSoccer).
The Spartans close out their regular season at home on Saturday, Oct. 29 at 7 p.m. against North Florida in a rematch of last year's ASUN Tournament championship game. The match is serving as Upstate's Coaches vs. Cancer Game as well as Senior Night. Donations for the Coaches vs. Cancer Game are now being accepted with all proceeds going to benefit the Gibbs Cancer Center & Research Institute in Spartanburg.
If you would like to make a donation, please contact head coach Greg Hooks at (864) 503-5117, assistant coach Scott Halkett at (864) 503-5041 or a member of the men's soccer team.
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