Wednesday's MatchUP  
October 4, 2023 | 7:00 p.m. ET   

USC Upstate (6-1-4, 3-0-0 Big South) vs. High Point (4-3-5, 2-0-1 Big South)  
Vert Stadium | High Point, N.C. 
 

How They Stack Up  

Record: USC Upstate (6-1-4, 3-0-0 Big South) vs. High Point (4-3-5, 2-0-1 Big South) 

Series: USC Upstate trails the overall series 1-5-0 

Last Five Matches: Sept. 21, 2022 (UPST 1; HPU 0), Oct. 6, 2021 (UPST 2; HPU 5 [86:01]), Sept. 28, 2019 (UPST 0; HPU 3), Sept. 22, 2018 (UPST 1; HPU 4), Sept. 17, 2015 (UPST 0; HPU 2) 

Players to Watch  

Dara Russo collected her first Big South weekly honor of the season on Monday after an impressive performance against both Winthrop and Gardner-Webb. Russo leads the Spartans with seven goals, two assists, 16 points, 38 shots, 25 shots on goal, and two game winning goals. With her impressive stat line, Russo also leads the Big South for shots, shots on goal, goals, and points. Five other Spartans sit with multiple goals on the season: Baccelli (4), Bjarnadottir (3), Armstrong (2), Finn (2), and Baer (2). Armstrong (4), Baccelli (3), and Russo (3) all have multiple assists on the season as well.  

Upstate has consistently started Catarina Bastos and Hailey Sapinoro in the back line with Savannah Noll, Adrianna Pepe, Emily Rangel, and Emily Sanders all seeing starts and decent time through the last three conference games. Cora Brendle has remained Upstate's final line of defense, establishing a .721 save percentage as well as 31 saves. 

High Point is led by Fain Buete with three goals, two assists, eight points, 17 shots, eight shots on goal, and two game winning goals. Three other Panthers have scored multiple goals this season (Mashinski, Carlin, Malone) while two Panthers have recorded multiple assists (Buete and DeHaven). Mashinski has scored two goals in High Points last three contests. Ellyn Casto has started 11 games in the net for High Point, establishing a .803 save percentage and recording 57 saves.  

Last Match    

Upstate continued its best start to conference play on Saturday after a 2-1 comeback win over Gardner-Webb in North Carolina. Audrey Baer scored in the 65th minute with the assist coming from Ashley Finn to tie the game 1-1 and give the Spartans a chance to comeback. Margret Edda Bjarnadottir solidified the comeback win as she scored her second penalty kick of the season. The win over Gardner-Webb advanced Upstate's conference record to 3-0 and makes the Spartans one of three teams in the Big South without a conference loss so far.  

High Point most recently advanced its conference record to 2-0-1 after a 4-0 win over Presbyterian on Saturday afternoon. The Panthers started Saturday's match with one goal from Fain Buete in the first half and finished the game with an additional goal from Buete as well as one goal from Emily Mashinski and Leah Malone respectively. Ellyn Casto was able to keep the clean sheet to collect her fourth shutout of the season while also recording three saves.  

     
 
UP Next for the Spartans   
Following the road trip to High Point, the Spartans will return home to host the Highlanders of Radford on Saturday at 7:00 p.m.  
  

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   

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