Wednesday's MatchUP
October 12, 2022 | 7:00 p.m. ET
USC Upstate (6-3-3, 4-1-0 Big South) vs. UNC Asheville (3-7-3, 1-3-1 Big South)
County University Soccer Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.
Live Stats: https://upstatespartans.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/media
Watch: UNC Asheville vs. South Carolina Upstate | Watch ESPN
How They Stack Up
USC Upstate leads the Big South standings with a 4-1-0 record after defeating the Longwood Lancers on Saturday afternoon. UNC Asheville sits eighth in the Big south standings with a 1-3-1 record after falling 2-1 to Radford on Saturday afternoon. Here is how the Spartans and the Bulldogs compare this season against Big South opponents:
Upstate vs. CSU (L, 2-0), UNC Asheville vs. CSU (L, 2-0)
Upstate vs. Radford (W, 2-0), UNC Asheville vs. Radford (L, 2-1)
Upstate vs. High Point (W, 1-0), UNC Asheville vs. High Point (L, 5-0)
Series History
The Spartans and the Bulldogs have met 10 times since their original meeting in 2012 where Upstate fell 5-1 in Spartanburg, S.C. Upstate trails the overall series 8-2 with the most recent meetings in 2021 resulting in one goal losses in overtime. During conference meetings, Upstate trails 3-1.
Players to Watch
Dara Russo and Cora Brendle carved their names into Upstate women's soccer history as they garnered back-to-back Big South honors this week. Russo scored her fourth goal of the season against Radford and her fifth goal against Longwood. She is the first Spartan since 2018 to score in three consecutive games. Brendle recorded her fourth shutout of the season against Radford and maintains her 0.841 save percentage and 0.85 goals-against average.
Russo sits in the Big South rankings for shots (4th), shots per game (3rd), goals (5th), and goals per game (4th). As well as being ranked in the Big South, Russo leads the Upstate offense with five goals, ten points, 36 shots, 17 shots on goal, and three game winning goals. Brendle continues to lead the Big South for goals against average (.924) and save percentage, while still being ranked fifth for saves and saves per game and second for shutouts and shutouts per game.
Ashley Finn notched her first goal of the season after successfully taking a penalty kick against Radford. Finn went on to record her first assist of the season as she helped Russo score against Longwood. Margret Edda Bjarnadottir also recorded another assist this season in the game against Radford while Emily Sanders recorded two assists against Longwood.
Last Match
Upstate most recently collected its third straight Big South win with a 3-1 victory over Longwood on Saturday afternoon. Dara Russo, Nya Baccelli and Catarina Bastos recorded goals for the Spartans while Cora Brendle earned her sixth win. Emily Sanders recorded a season-high of two assists. Ashley Finn recorded a season-high five shots and three shots on goal. Upstate was tied in shots (14-14) but led in shots on goal (9-5).
UNC Asheville most recently fell 2-1 at home to the Radford Highlanders on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs took the lead in the 34th minute as Daysha Chaney scored her third goal of the season. Coming out of halftime, UNC Asheville wasn't able to shutdown Radford and fell 2-1 in North Carolina. UNC Asheville trailed in shots (16-9) but led in shots on goal (5-4).
UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans will pack up and venture to Buies Creek, N.C. to take on the Fighting Camels of Campbell University on Saturday, October 15th at 7:00 p.m.
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Want to be a ball kid for USC Upstate Soccer? Kids ages 10 and up can help the Spartans all season long by retrieving game balls on the sidelines during home men's and women's soccer matches at County-University Soccer Stadium. Click here for more details.
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