Upstate Heads to NJIT on Wednesday for ASUN Opener
9/19/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Soccer
Spartanburg, S.C. – The USC Upstate men's soccer team opens the ASUN portion of its 2017 schedule on Wednesday afternoon when it travels to Newark, N.J. to face the NJIT Highlanders at 1 p.m. from Kean University East Campus Facility.
Upstate enters the conference opener with a 2-4-1 overall record while NJIT currently sits at 5-1-2 on the season.
The Spartans earned their first tie of the season last Saturday following a 1-1 draw on the road at High Point. Michelangelo Dovidio recorded his first goal of the season against the Panthers while Jaedon Williamson tallied an assist. Dovidio led Upstate offensively with three shots and, as well as JR Cozine, had one shot on goal. In goal, Santiago Restrepo finished the match with five saves.
NJIT has posted wins this season over Sacred Heart, Navy, Florida Atlantic, LIU Brooklyn and St. Francis Brooklyn. The Highlanders are led offensively by Mamadou Guirassy who is first in the nation with nine goals and has tallied 19 points this year. Pablo Jimenez and Thomas Radon have each dished out two assists. Goalie Victor Pujades has 35 saves and a 0.61 GAA. NJIT is under the direction of second-year head coach Fernando Barboto.
The Spartans and Highlanders are meeting for the second time in program history on Wednesday with NJIT leading the all-time series 1-0. The Highlanders picked up a 1-0 win last season in Spartanburg.
Fans can follow the action on www.upstatespartans.com via live stats. The match is being streamed live on www.njithighlanders.com. Updates will also be posted on the Upstate men's soccer Twitter page (@UpstateMSoccer).
The Spartans return to County University Soccer Stadium on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. against Lipscomb.
Follow Upstate men's soccer on Facebook (UpstateAthletics), Twitter (@UpstateMSoccer), Instagram (@upstatespartans), YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics) and text/e-mail alerts (www.upstatespartans.com/list-signup).
