COLUMBIA, S.C. – USC Upstate men's soccer opened the 2021 spring campaign with a gritty battle against the University of South Carolina Wednesday evening on the road. The Spartans pushed the Gamecocks into overtime thanks to a strong performance by goalkeeper Felipe Baeza and Jeremy Montero's first collegiate goal, but ultimately fell 2-1 in the contest.
Upstate came out strong on the attack in the first half and the defense suffocated South Carolina's offensive efforts which led to a chippy first 45 minutes. Moss Lewis headed out a free kick from the Gamecocks in the first couple of minutes to shut down South Carolina early, and the home team wouldn't record a shot until the 39th minute, which was blocked by Filippo Censini.
Meanwhile, the Spartans had plenty of opportunities as they outshot South Carolina 6-2 in the first half. Javier Torres had a great chance for the Spartans 5:28 into the match, but put the shot off the left post. Mario Arrocha led Upstate with four shots on the night and two of those opportunities were blocked in the first half.
South Carolina had a two-on-one chance in the 29th minute, but the ball went astray and Baeza was able to shut it down and help send things into halftime leveled up at 0-0. A total of 17 fouls and six yellow cards were handed out in the first half.
Pol Monells found Alex Ljusberg open for Upstate's first offensive opportunity of the second half, but the shot sailed to the left. A tip save from Baeza kept the scoresheet at zero in the 53rd minute before Pascal Corvino shut down another Gamecock chance just a moment later.
A defensive miscue by Upstate led to Logan Frost sailing a shot right over Baeza's head to get the Gamecocks on the board first in the 58th minute, but back-to-back saves from Baeza 10 minutes later would keep the score at 1-0.
Montero's equalizer came in the 71st minute of the contest when Monells ricocheted a shot off a Gamecock defender and Montero netted the rebound for his first goal in a Spartan uniform. Monells had a great chance to take the lead in the final minute of regulation, but the Spartans were called offside, and the match would head to overtime where South Carolina would find the golden goal in the 95th minute.
The Spartans outshot the Gamecocks 14-8 on the night, though only three of those shots reached the target. Baeza was able to make five saves in goal for Upstate.
Scoring Summary
58' – South Carolina – Logan Frost (Unassisted)
71' – Upstate – Jeremy Montero (Assisted by Pol Monells)
95' – South Carolina – Brian Banahan (Assisted by Justin Kopay)
Card Summary
18' – South Carolina – Peter Clement (Yellow)
23' – Upstate – Filippo Censini (Yellow)
30' – South Carolina – Donovan Wu (Yellow)
33' – Upstate – Javier Torres (Yellow)
33' – South Carolina – Sekou Soumah (Yellow)
37' – South Carolina – Mark Roby (Yellow)
54' – Upstate – Roberto Umana (Yellow)
59' – South Carolina – Jordan Matthews (Yellow)
73' – Upstate – Pol Monells (Yellow)
UP next for the Spartans
The Spartans host Radford in their home opener this Sunday, Feb. 21, at 3:30 p.m.
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