Heartbreak for USC Upstate in Season Opener

Sunday, August 25

Spartanburg, S.C.

1:00 p.m.

University of South Carolina Upstate Athletics

0-1-0, 0-0-0

American

2-0-0, 0-0-0

American

USC Upstate 2019

Photo by: Douglas Fairnot

8/25/2019 5:13:00 PM | Women's Soccer

Box Score Photo Gallery

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On an overcast day at County University Soccer Stadium the USC Upstate women's soccer team gave it their all for 90 minutes, but a goal by Fisayo Iluyomade in the 86^th minute broke the hearts of 269 Spartan fans and gave American University a 2-1 victory on Sunday afternoon.

USC Upstate (0-1-0) and American (2-0-0) went back-and-forth throughout the contest with the majority of the action occurring in the center of the pitch. In the 15^th minute of the game American got on the board first with a goal from Iluyomade, the assist went to Juliana Saling.

Moments later Spartan senior Delaney Bussey (Brighton, Mich.) had a shot at the equalizing goal in the 28^th minute but Amy Krotine knocked the ball away just before it crossed the goal line. Going into halftime the Spartans trailed 1-0.

Coming out of the halftime break both teams attempted numerous shots but neither side was able to find the back of the net. In the 61^st minute of the contest Bussey took a shot from inside the 18-yard box but was once again off the mark. In the 69^th minute of action Jada Kinlaw (Greenville, S.C.) took a rip at trying to get the ball past Krotine, but the Spartans once again came up empty on an offensive possession.

In the 78^th minute of action the Spartan offense was finally able to push through the American defense. American committed a foul just outside the 18-yard box, setting the stage for senior Emma Honis (Ocoee, Fla.) to take the shot. Honis' initial shot ended up being blocked by the American wall, but to the Spartans joy the referee said that an American defender moved earlier and Honis was awarded another opportunity. This time Honis did not miss as she fired it into the upper right hand corner of the net to tie the game at 1-1.

The two teams appeared to be heading to over time with less than seven minutes to go in the second half. Then Morgan Brinson flipped the ball into the box and Iluyomade headed the ball past a diving Logan Pace (Belmont, N.C.) to give American a 2-1 advantage with three minutes remaining in the match.

USC Upstate forced the ball down the field and had opportunities to score but time ran out before the Spartans were able to tie the game.

Stats of the Match

American outshot USC Upstate 27-7 overall in the game. The Eagles had nine shots on goal and USC Upstate recorded four shots on goal.
Pace registered seven saves in the loss, while Krotine produced a trio of saves for American.
Iluyomade was the only player to receive a yellow card in the match.
Iluyomade led the American in shots (5), shots on goal (3) and goals (2).
Bussey and Honis paced the Spartans offense with a trio of shots each in the game.
Prior to her goal today, Honis had not scored since the Winthrop game on October 3, 2018.

USC Upstate Goals

79^th minute Emma Honis (1), free kick outside the 18-yard box.

American Goals

15^th minute Fisayo Iluyomade (1), right footed shot into lower left corner, assisted by Juliana Saling.
86^th minute Fisayo Iluyomade (2), header into the lower left and corner, assisted by Morgan Brinson.

Up Next

The Spartans will hit the road this Wednesday with a trip to the Volunteer State. USC Upstate will battle East Tennessee State at 7:00 p.m. Live Stats for the match can be found online at www.upstatespartans.com.

Follow USC Upstate women's soccer on Facebook (UpstateAthletics), Twitter (@UpstateWSoccer), Instagram (@upstatespartans), YouTube (USCUpstateAthletics) and text/email alerts (www.upstatespartans.com/list-signup).