HIGH POINT, N.C. - Continuing play in the Big South Men's Soccer Championships, Upstate Men's Soccer took the pitch on the road for the Semifinal round against No. 1 seeded and nationally ranked #12 High Point. The Panthers used their hot first half to halt Upstate's offense and move past the Spartans for a 5-0 final.
High Point opened the first 11 minutes with a 2-0 lead, scoring their first goal in the fifth minute and following at the 11th. As Upstate looked to respond, the numbers advantage for the Panthers displayed with scoring their third goal at the 19th minute for an early 3-0 lead. The Spartans followed Henry Burt and Vitalis Takawira Jr. taking back-to-back shots, but High Point kept Upstate scoreless. High Point continued their big first half with their fourth scoring opportunity at the 42nd minute to lead 4-0 in the half. Oskar Kaufmann took the first shot in the second half for the Spartans, which was saved to keep Upstate off the board. High Point scored the final goal of the match at the 72nd minute to shut out the Spartans with a 5-0 final.
Match Information
Big South Men's Soccer Championships Semifinals Round (Winner advances to Championship round)
Score : High Point 5: Upstate 0
Records: #5 seed USC Upstate (5-11-3; 2-3-2 Big South) vs. #1 seed High Point (12-1-4; 7-0 Big South)
Location: Vert Stadium | High Point, North Carolina
How it Happened
5'- Daniel Lugo of High Point scores the first goal
11' -Celestin Blondel of High Point moves the Panthers lead to two
19' - High Point moves their lead to 3-0 from a goal by Brendan Krueger assisted by Daniel Lugo
21'- Shot by Henry Burt, out top
27' - Shot by Vitalis Takawira Jr., blocked
42' - Goal scored by High Point's Chris Niblock
67' - Shot by Oskar Kaufmann saved by High Point
72' - High Point scores the final goal of the match
Notable
Up next for the Spartans
In result of the semifinal loss, the Spartans end their season with a 5-11-3 (2-3-2 Big South) which is a two-win improvement from the 2024 season followed by their first tournament appearance since 2022. Upstate finished with five all-conference players (Oskar Kaufmann, Vitalis Takawira Jr., Jorhan Chopin, Oscar Kelly, and Ewan Tomas).The Men's Soccer program will now look to the offseason to regroup and prepare for the 2026 spring ball and the fall season.
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