SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Third-seeded USC Upstate will travel to second-seeded Campbell Wednesday evening for the Big South Championship Semifinals.
Campbell and USC Upstate tied for second in the standings with identical 6-1-1 Big South records and 19 points. The teams played to a 2-2 draw on Feb. 28 and both lost to HPU during the season, and the next tiebreaker of goal differential in conference matches gave the defending champion Camels the No. 2 seed. The two teams will meet in the semifinals.
UNC Asheville clinched the fourth and final seed with its 3-4-1 league mark (10 points), and will play at No. 1 High Point (8-0 conference record, 24 points) in the semifinals. Just the top four teams in the final standings qualify for the league's postseason event in the 2021 spring season.
The 2021 Big South Spring Men's Soccer Championship will be played at higher seed throughout the tournament, and all three matches of the championship will be broadcast on ESPN+. The Big South's tournament champion receives an automatic bid to the NCAA Men's Soccer Championship. The full schedule is below and subject to change.
Wednesday, April 14 – Semifinals (ESPN+ - campus sites)
No. 3 USC Upstate at No. 2 Campbell, 6:00pm
No. 4 UNC Asheville at No. 1 High Point, 7:00pm
Saturday, April 17 – Championship (ESPN+ - at highest remaining seed)
TBD at TBD, TBA
Wednesday's MatchUP
Wednesday, April 14 | 6:00 p.m. EST
USC Upstate (6-3-1, 6-1-1 Big South) at Campbell University (8-2-1, 6-1-1 Big South)
Eakes Athletics Complex | Buies Creek, North Carolina
TV: ESPN+ | Via WatchESPN.com or the ESPN App
Series History
The Spartans and Camels have met on the pitch six times in their history, and the Camels hold the advantage in the all-time series 5-0-1. The Camels won the first ever matchup between the two sides 3-0 back on October 23, 2008, and would go on to win the next four matches in the series. In the most recent matchup, however, the Spartans snapped their five game losing streak against the Camels with a 2-2 home draw earlier this season on February 28, 2021.
Last Time Out
The Spartans enter the Big South Conference Semifinal match having won their regular season finale on April 3 at Gardner-Webb by a score of 2-1 in overtime. The Spartans started fast, creating two excellent scoring chances within the first twelve minutes of the match. Gardner-Webb's keeper was equal to the challenge however, and the Runnin' Bulldogs were able to snatch a goal off a counter attack in the 15th minute. The Spartans responded quickly when Mario Arrocha found the back of the net to equalize just three minutes later. The Spartans turned up the pressure, consistently pinning the Runnin' Bulldogs back in their half, and stymieing any Gardner-Webb attempts to play out from the back. For every chance created and shot on goal, however, Gardner-Webb's keeper was stout, and the two sides went into halftime level at 1-1. The second half would only see the Spartans' grip on the game tighten, and they generated chance after chance. In the second half alone, the Spartans outshot Gardner-Webb 12-0, forcing another eight saves from the Gardner-Webb keeper. Despite the constant pressure, the Spartans were unable to find the breakthrough and the game went into extra time. While the Runnin' Bulldogs' defense had managed to bend but not break in the second half, they could do very little to keep the Spartans out in extra time, and Pascal Corvino was able to finally provide the breakthrough the Spartans needed in the 91st minute to win the match. With the win, Upstate secured their sixth conference win of the year, the most in the program's Division I history.
Campbell enters the matchup having won its regular-season finale at home against Radford this past Saturday by a score of 3-1. The Camels fell behind early by way of a Radford penalty kick, but they found an equalizer in the 40th minute after sustained pressure on the Highlander defense. The Camels would keep applying the pressure in the second half, and were able to break through twice with two goals from freshman Sami Charaf Amal to win.
Ones to Watch
Upstate – Senior winger Pol Monells will look to continue to lead from the front for the Spartans, as he enters the matchup as Upstate's leader in both goals (7) and assists (5). Additionally, Monells has created at least one goal in all but two of Upstate's matches this season, and the Spartans will undoubtedly look to him to create chances against a Campbell backline that has conceded just nine goals this season. He currently ranks third in the conference in goals and points, and second in assists. Monells' 19 points on the season are good enough for 11th in all of DI.
Redshirt sophomore Mario Arrocha enters the match having scored the equalizer against Gardner-Webb in the season finale to bring his season goal total up to two, and his season point total up to seven. While Arrocha's contributions aren't always reflected on the scoresheet as goals and assists, his ability to work and create alongside Pol Monells in Upstate's attack cannot be understated. Additionally, Arrocha assisted on one of Upstate's goals in their regular season draw against Campbell.
Sophomore midfielder Pascal Corvino comes into Wednesday's game having scored the game-winning goal for the Spartans in their season finale against Gardner-Webb. Corvino's goal ended a three-game scoring drought for him, and he'll look to continue his good form in this week's semifinal match. Much like Arrocha, Corvino's contributions this season may not have always been reflected on the stat sheet as goals or assists, but his ability to find the right pass and drive the Spartans midfield forward has been invaluable all season.
Campbell – Freshman midfielder Sami Charaf Amal enters the matchup in excellent form, having scored twice and providing an assist in the Camels' season finale against Radford. Amal's two-goal performance also marked the fourth time in the Camels' last five games that he has scored, and it marked the third consecutive game in which he played the full 90 minutes. Amal currently leads the Camels in assists with four, and is tied with teammate Jalen James for the team lead in goals with five.
Junior Defender Franck Momo comes into the matchup having played the full 90 minutes in each of Campbell's last four games, including shutouts against Gardner-Webb and Longwood. Momo has been a consistent performer in a Campbell backline that has conceded just nine goals this season, the second lowest amount in the Big South Conference. In addition to his stout defending, Momo has netted three goals this season and provided three assists for a point total of nine, which is good enough for fourth on the Camels' roster.
UP Next for the Spartans
The winner of this matchup will go on to face the winner of the UNC Asheville at High Point matchup at the home of the higher seed for the championship on Saturday, April 17.
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