Saturday's MatchUP  
SENIOR DAY
October 21, 2023 | 4:00 p.m. ET   

USC Upstate (9-2-4, 5-1-0 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (3-9-2, 2-3-1 Big South)  
County University Soccer Stadium | Spartanburg, S.C.  
 

How They Stack Up  

Record: USC Upstate (9-2-4, 5-1-0 Big South) vs. Presbyterian (3-9-2, 2-3-1 Big South) 

Series: USC Upstate trails the overall series 5-7-0 

Last Five Matches: Sept. 22, 2022 (UPST 1; PC 0), Oct. 9, 2021 (UPST 2; PC 0), Apr. 1, 2021 (UPST 1; PC 3), Oct. 2, 2019 (UPST 2; PC 0), Oct. 20, 2018 (UPST 2; PC 0) 

Players to Watch  

Several Spartans added to their stats during Wednesday's non-conference match against S.C. State. Dara Russo leads the Spartans stats with 11 goals, two assists, 24 points, 54 shots, 35 shots on goal, and two game winning goals. Nya Baccelli also sits near the top of Upstate's stats with seven goals, four assists, 18 points, 43 shots, 21 shots on goal, and three game winning goals. Seven Spartans sit with multiple goals on the year: Russo, Baccelli, Bjarnadottir, Armstrong, Finn, Blodget, and Baer.  

Upstate has consistently started Catarina Bastos and Hailey Sapinoro in the backline with Savannah Noll, Adrianna Pepe, Emily Rangel, and Emily Sanders all seeing starts and decent time through all six conference games so far. Cora Brendle has continued to be Upstate's final line of defense, establishing a .746 save percentage as well as 44 saves. 

USC Upstate will honor its four graduating seniors prior to the match against Presbyterian. Come out to help the Spartans celebrate Kennedy Jackson, Emily Sanders, Ashley Finn, and Ellie Arnold before their final home match as an Upstate Spartan.

Presbyterian is led on offense by Sloan Spees with five goals, 10 points, 47 shots, 22 shots, 22 shots on goal, and one game winning goal. Kori Lawrence helps lead the Blue Hose on offense with three goals, one assist, seven points, 18 shots, six shots on goal, and one game winning goal. Three other Presbyterian players have scored this season: Lindsay Malyszek, Reyna Coston, and Madison Hindman. Kelly Hall has been Presbyterian's primary goalkeeper this season with 14 game starts, 58 saves, a 1.64 goals against average, and a 0.734 save percentage. 

Last Match    

Upstate most recently downed the Lady Bulldogs of S.C. State with a 10-0 shutout win on Wednesday night. Dara Russo led the Spartans' scoring efforts with her second hat trick of the season while Hannah Blodget and Nya Baccelli scored two goals each. Rachel Satchell, Ellie Arnold, and Adrianna Pepe all scored their first goals of the season as well. 10 Spartans were credited with assists, including Margret Edda Bjarnadottir who tallied three and Savannah Noll and Sydney Thomas who earned two respectively.  

Most recently, Presbyterian tied Charleston Southern 1-1 on Wednesday night in Clinton. The Blue Hose were able to take a one-goal lead in the 52nd minute with the goal being credited to Sloan Spees and the assist being given to Lina-Marie Muller. Unfortunately, Presbyterian was not able to hold the lead as the Bucs scored in the 74th minute to tie the game. Kelly Hall made a season-high 10 saves in her 90 minutes in the net. 

Final Season Scenarios 

Upstate women's soccer has the potential to make history, taking not only the No. 1 seed in the Big South Women's Soccer Tournament but also earning the program's first ever conference regular season championship in the Division I era. Radford leads the conference with a 5-1-1 record with the potential to get a maximum of 19 points with a win on Saturday. With two games left and a 5-1 record (15 points), Upstate can potentially get a maximum of 21 points. The Spartans need to at least get a win and a tie in the final two games to make history. Regardless of their final two games, the Spartans have secured the No. 2 seed in the tournament.  

 
 
UP Next for the Spartans   
Upstate will finish off the 2023 regular season with a final road trip to play Charleston Southern Wednesday at 3:00 p.m.before preparing for the Big South Women's Soccer Tournament set to start November 2nd. 
  

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.     
 
Connect with the Spartans   
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics   
Twitter | @UpstateWSoccer   
Instagram | @UpstateWSoccer   
Youtube.com/UpstateSpartans