ROCK HILL, S.C. – Two teams with 3 game win streaks went in, two teams with 4 game loss-less streaks came out as the USC Upstate Spartans gritted out a 1-1 tie with the Winthrop Eagles.
A quiet first half that saw the Spartans rattle off 4 shots to Winthrop's 5 broke open for the briefest of moments in the second half, when Winthrop broke the tie in the 67' minute.
While the Eagles seemed to be on their way to a fourth consecutive 1-0 shutout,
Jeremy Montero had other plans and finished off an Andrin Zumbuhl pass to even the score just 14 seconds after Winthrop took the lead.
Scoring stalled after that though and both teams walked away with one goal and one point to the Big South standings.
Game Information
Score: UPST 1 | WIN 1
Records: Upstate (5-5-4, 3-1-2 Big South) at Winthrop (3-11-1, 2-4-1 Big South)
Where: Eagle Field, Rock Hill S.C.
How it Happened
1' –
Pablo Diaz tried to recreate the quick start Upstate got to last week, taking a shot within the first :30 of the match.
2' – 16' – The two teams traded fouls for the next 15 minutes, with neither one having a solid opportunity to find a goal
17' – Until the Eagles were awarded a PK try after contact with
Luca Bulfon by the net. Winthrop's Nick Guido went to the line for the shot, but Bulfon dove to the side, his outstretched mitt just getting enough of the ball to deflect the shot and deny the try.
18' – 45' – The rest of the first half finished quietly with each team recording only one more shot on goal from there
66' – Winthrop broke the tie here thanks to the foot of Nick Guido, who buried a shot into the back right of the net...
66' – …and then
Jeremy Montero tied it up for the Spartans, just 14 seconds after Winthrop found the advantage. Montero's goal was the first allowed by Winthrop's Gareth Shaw this season.
82' – Tensions were high, and frustration boiled over on both teams here, as a yellow card was awarded to a Spartan and an Eagle
89' –
Luca Bulfon collected two more saves to end the game as he denied Winthrop's Nick Guido two more times over a thirty second span to secure a point in Big South play.
Notables
-Freshman
Joseph Christy started his first match of the season, totaling 70 minutes of game action vs Winthrop.
-
Jeremy Montero goal vs Winthrop gives him 5 points over the last 4 matches. His four-match point streak is the longest since Pol Monells notched a point in 6 straight matches in 2020
-Andrin Zumbuhl's assist on Montero's goal gives him 10 points on the season.
-Five Spartans played the full 90 minutes, including freshman
Braiden Hall who had the first complete performance of his career. The other Spartans to go the distance were
Luca Bulfon,
Julian Fernandez, Kasper Jorgensen, and
Carson Hickok
-Braiden also recorded 5 shots vs the Eagles, the highest number of his career so far
UP Next for the Spartans
The Spartans have a week off before hosting High Point for senior night Saturday the 29
th.
JOIN UP
Make a difference in the lives of USC Upstate student-athletes!
Donate to the USC Upstate U Club today!
GET INVOLVED
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.
Keep UP with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
Twitter | @UpstateMSoccer @UpstateSpartans
Instagram | @UpstateMensSoccer @UpstateSpartans
YouTube.com/UpstateSpartans
