SPARTANBURG, S.C. - USC Upstate women's soccer team left Johnson City, Tenn. on Thursday night with its fourth tie of the 2023 season after a 0-0 finish against the Bucs of ETSU. Dara Russo and Savannah Noll led the Spartans' offense while Cora Brendle earned her first solo shutout of the season. 

The Spartans and the Bucs went back and forth the entire first half with the biggest battle being in the middle third of the field. ETSU claimed the first shot of the game in the sixth minute while Upstate earned their first shot in the 27th minute after Russo took off on a breakaway but was met with both the Bucs' center back and goalkeeper. Despite the action between the goals, the teams went into halftime tied 0-0 with the hosting ETSU Bucs leading in shots, but both teams sitting with one shot on frame.  

Similar to the first half, the two teams spent majority of the remaining 45 minutes in the middle third of the field with occasional chances breaking into the final third for a scoring opportunity. The first shot of the second half didn't come until the 61st minute of play in the form of a free kick from Noll from distance which forced the Bucs' goalkeeper to make a save. Dara Russo and Margret Edda Bjarnadottir would claim the final shots of the game and force the Bucs' goalkeeper to make another two saves to hold the game at 0-0. The Spartans' defensive squad consisting of Catarina Bastos, Emily Rangel, Adrianna Pepe, Hailey Sapinoro, Emily Sanders, Savannah Noll and Lauren Darbo did a commendable job of shutting down ETSU's offense and helping Upstate shutout its second team of the season.  

Game Information    
Score: Upstate 0; ETSU 0 
Record: USC Upstate (2-1-4, 0-0-0 Big South) vs. ETSU (3-1-3, 0-0-0 SoCon)   
Location: Summers-Taylor Stadium | Johnson City, Tenn. 

 
How It Happened   

• 6'- ETSU claimed the first shot of the game courtesy of Sydney Somogyi, but Somogyi's shot was off target.  

• 24'- Reagan Fitzgerald (ETSU) fired off the Bucs' first shot on goal of the game but in turn gave Cora Brendle (UPST) her lone save of the game. 

• 25'- Paige Carlsen (ETSU) attempted to help the Bucs' offense with a shot, however the shot was off target.  

• 27'- Dara Russo (UPST) took off through the middle of the field but was put under pressure from the Bucs' center back and goalkeeper, both of whom forced Russo's shot off target. 

• 32'- The Bucs tallied off one final shot in the first half from Lindsey Cook but came up empty as the shot was off target. 

• 42'- Savannah Noll (UPST) fired the final shot of the first half to the bottom center of the, which Rhyan Connolly saved for her lone save of the match.   

• At halftime, Upstate trailed ETSU in shots (4-2) and corner kicks (3-1) but was tied for saves (1-1).  

• 61'- Noll (UPST) had her second shot on target of the game off a free kick from distance but Blair (ETSU) made her first save of the game.  

• 72'- Russo (UPST) tallied her first shot of the game after she got distance from ETSU defenders, but it would be Blair (ETSU) that came out with a save.  

• 85'- Margret Edda Bjarnadottir (UPST) recorded her lone shot of the game off a free kick just before full time. The shot would be on target but get collected by Blair (ETSU) for her final save of the match.  

• At the end of full time, Upstate led ETSU in shots (5-4), but trailed in corner kicks (4-2) and saves (4-1).  

Notable   

• Upstate has only ever tied ETSU one other time (overall record 0-12-2).  
• Upstate tied its program record for ties in a single season (4) which was set back in the 2022 season. 

• Catarina Bastos and Hailey Sapinoro played their second full game of the season.  

• Bastos leads field players in minutes played (567). 

• Russo (81) and Ellie Arnold (41) played season-high minutes in today's ETSU. 

• After today's game, Dara Russo leads the Spartans with 21 shots and 13 shots on goal.  

UP Next for the Spartans    
The Spartans will take the next few days to recover and reset before traveling to Jackson, Miss. to play Jackson State in a morning match on Monday (11:00 a.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.      

    
    
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