RALEIGH, N.C. – USC Upstate men's soccer kicked off the fall 2021 campaign Thursday night on the road against N.C. State. The Spartans fell 2-0 despite a solid night from their backline, and started the season 0-1-0 while N.C. State sits at 1-0-0 after opening night.
Lukas O'Grady got the start in goal for his first career appearance and registered six saves on the night. He put up a couple crucial stops early on in the match beginning around the 10th minute when he came out to smother a ball that deflected off his defender's foot. In the 16th minute, O'Grady faced a one-on-one situation and made a sprawling save to keep the Wolfpack off the board. He was peppered with 18 shots on the night, and came up with some huge saves to keep the match close.
The Spartans came out pressing right off the kick off, registering a shot from Elias Ehlin in the first 39 seconds of the match. The backline was very controlled and, despite N.C. State winning the battle of possession, solid at forcing turnovers and suffocating Wolfpack chances.
The Wolfpack seemed to have a promising chance in the 26th minute when Filippo Censini was called for a handball right inside the box, but N.C. State's Kuda Muskwe sent the penalty kick off the left post. Three minutes later, N.C. State would fire back-to-back shots into traffic, but both were blocked by Upstate defenders.
Upstate found itself on the unfortunate end of an own goal in the 34th minute, and the Pack doubled its lead in the 40th minute when Luke Hille fired a shot off his right foot from outside the top of the box and beat O'Grady right inside the right post. Ehlin later headed out a free kick in the closing minute of the first half to keep the deficit at 2-0 heading into halftime.
Hayden Anderson provided Upstate with the first real scoring chance in the second half as he put a shot on goal to the bottom center in the 50th minute. O'Grady came up with another big save about a minute and a half later as he deflected a hard strike with his foot, and he made another unconventional foot save in the 54th minute.
Aerial passes all the way up the field set Alex Ljusberg up for a shot in the 68th minute, but he could not convert as the shot went wide right. In the 77th minute, O'Grady found the Pack all alone in the box once again, but he was able to make the save to keep the score at 2-0. The Spartan keeper posted a clean sheet in the second half, forcing away four Pack shots.
A pair of yellow cards were dished out in the match, both going to Upstate as Censini drew one in the 33rd minute while Ljusberg caught one in the 73rd minute.
Defender Felipe Marty made his first start in an Upstate uniform tonight while Xavi Wences and Alvaro Martin each joined him in their Spartan debuts.
UP next for the Spartans
Upstate continues its season-opening road stint with a trip to Clemson on Sunday, Aug. 29. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.
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