Sunday's MatchUP  

Big South Women's Soccer Tournament Finals 
November 5, 2023 | 1:00 p.m. ET   

No. 2 Seed USC Upstate (11-2-4, 6-2 Big South) vs.  

No. 1 Seed Radford (11-5-2, 6-1-1 Big South)  
SportsPlex at Matthews | Matthews, N.C.  
 

How They Stack Up  

Record: No. 2 Seed USC Upstate (11-3-4, 6-2 Big South) vs. No 1 Seed High Point (6-4-7, 4-1-3 Big South) 

Series: USC Upstate trails the overall series 3-9-0 

Last Five Matches: Oct. 7, 2023 (UPST 1; RAD 0), Nov. 3, 2022 (UPST 0; RAD 1), Oct. 4, 2022 (UPST 2; RAD 0), Oct. 2, 21 (UPST 1; RAD 0), Mar. 24, 2021 (UPST 0; RAD 6) 

Players to Watch  

Regardless of being named the 2023 Big South Offensive Player of the Year, Dara Russo continues to work to rack up stats for Upstate. She leads the Spartans with 14 goals, three assists, 31 points, 64 shots, 43 shots on goal and two game winning goals. Ashley Finn has also posted an exceptional stat line towards the end of the season and sits with five goals, four assists, 14 points, 36 shots, 20 shots on goal, and two game winning goals. Against Radford earlier this season, goals from Finn, Russo, and Baccelli lifted the Spartans to their 3-1 win. 

Catarina Bastos, Hailey Sapinoro, Emily Rangel, and Savannah Noll have manned the Spartans' backline consistently with Emily Sanders and Adrianna Pepe seeing significant minutes as well. Cora Brendle continues to occupy the net for Upstate with 18 game starts and an 11-3-4 record. Brendle holds a 0.96 goals against average as well as a 0.757 save percentage and 53 saves. 

Radford is led on offense by Eileen Albers with six goals, three assists, 15 points, 30 shots, 19 shots on goal and three game winning goals. Alexeis Kirnos assists with the Highlanders offensive efforts and has recorded four goals, five assists, 13 points, 36 shots, 15 shots on goal, and two game winning goals. Lexi Radvanyi has been the Highlanders primary goalkeeper this season with 12 game starts and a 9-2-2 record. Radvanyi holds a 0.99 goals against average as well as a .812 saver percentage and 56 saves.  

Last Match    

Upstate most recently downed No. 3 seed High Point in the semifinals of the Big South Women's Soccer Tournament. Ashley Finn scored in the eighth minute, with assists coming from Audrey Baer and Margret Edda Bjarnadottir, to give the Spartans an early 1-0 lead. Dara Russo solidified the win with her goal in the 77th minute of play. Cora Brendle achieved her sixth solo shutout of the season as she made two saves in her 90 minutes in the net.  

Radford most recently was able to achieve a 2-1 win over No. 4 seed Charleston Southern in the semifinals of the Big South Women's Soccer Tournament. The Highlanders took a one-goal lead over the Bucs in the 26th minute of play, with the goal being credited to Lilly Short and the assist to Alexeis Kirnos. Charleston Southern was able to get the equalizing goal in the 35th minute of play to make the game 1-1 going into halftime. Ultimately, Radford came out on top as a goal from Ashley Loundermon lifted the Highlanders to a 2-1 victory. Lexi Radvanyi played the full 90 minutes in the net for Radford and made five saves to help the Highlanders advance. 

 
 
UP Next for the Spartans   
The winner of No. 2 USC Upstate vs. No. 1 Radford will earn an automatic bid into the first round of the 2023 NCAA Women's Soccer National Championship. The 2023 NCAA Division I Women's Soccer Championship bracket will be announced the Monday at 4:00 p.m. prior to the first-round of competition. For more information click here. 

  
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