SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Your Spartans are playing for their first winning season since 2020 Wednesday night in a road match with UNC Asheville.
 
Upstate fought to a 1-1 tie with then conference leading High Point to secure a crucial point in the Big South standings. UNC-Asheville may have some momentum riding into their last matchup of the year, as they gritted out a 2-1 win over Radford thanks to a penalty kick in the 90^th minute.
 
The MatchUP
Who: USC Upstate (5-5-5, 3-1-3 Big South) at UNC Asheville (2-10-4, 1-3-3 Big South)
Where: Greenwood Soccer Field, Asheville, N.C.
When: 6:00 p.m. November 2
 
Series History
This one goes back a bit, as the two teams have met on the pitch a total of 10 times since 2009. Upstate leads the overall series 6-3-1 and is currently on a two-match win streak. The teams have met a total of four times as Big South foes, with Upstate winning three of those. The lone loss came in 2019, by a score of 1-0. The Spartans have never lost in Asheville, boasting a 4-0-1 record there since 2009.
 
Last Match
The Spartans got their third tie (2-2 vs Campbell, 1-1 vs Winthrop) in Big South play after Marcus Waern's shot bounced by the High Point goalkeeper. Asheville earned their first Big South win of the season in dramatic fashion thanks to a penalty kick in the 90^th minute vs Radford.
 
The Six Degrees
The two teams have played against 12 common opponents this year, the most shared opponents Upstate has had with a team this season. Upstate has gone 5-3-4 against those teams, while Asheville is 1-7-4. Upstate has a 19-14 goal differential in those matches, while Asheville has a 12-29 differential.
 
Players to Watch
Andrin Zumbuhl is one of the more electrifying players on the Spartan roster and has an assist in two straight matches. Felipe Marty should be in line to continue to be a weapon on corner and free kicks. If Kasper Jorgensen starts against Asheville, then he will be the only freshman in the Big South to start all of his team's matches. Keep an eye on both Elijah Jackson and Liam Knight as the two freshmen could see more minutes down the stretch.
UP Next for The Spartans
Wednesday night's match with Asheville is the regular season finale, so all that's left after that is to wait and see how the top four of the Big South shakes out for the conference tournament.
 
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 
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