USC Upstate announces 2026 men's soccer slate in the second year of the Antoniewicz era
6/11/2026 3:14:00 PM | Men's Soccer
Spartanburg, SC – USC Upstate head men's soccer coach Michael Antoniewicz carries plenty of positive momentum into his second season at the helm of the Spartans. In his first year, the Spartans topped South Carolina and made a run to the Big South Conference tournament semifinals. The program announced the 17-match schedule for the 2026 season.
The 2026 schedule is a challenging one for the Spartans with 5 home games at Spartanburg Regional Field at County University Soccer Stadium and road contests against South Carolina, perennial national power Wake Forest and 2025 College Cup participant, Furman.
"I want our boys to be challenged and be ready for important moments when it matters and this schedule will push our team and prepare them for our ultimate goal of winning a conference championship," said Antoniewicz.
The Spartans will open on the road against Georgia State on August 20th and four days later will face off against the Gamecocks of South Carolina in Columbia. Upstate has won three of the last five meetings in the series against USC.
The home opener will be Thursday, August 27th against one of the newest members of Division I, the West Florida Argonauts. In their final season in Division II, UWF won the Gulf South Conference and fell in the first round of the NCAA Division II tournament.
September 1st opens a stout three-match road swing and a span of four matches in 12 days for Upstate as they will take on ETSU in Johnson City followed by UAB on September 5 and Wake Forest on September 8. The Spartans will return home September 12th to host College of Charleston on September 12.
The final road contest for Big South play will not be a long trip, just 3.5 miles south to Wofford to face the Terriers at Snyder Field on September 15th before conference play opens at Presbyterian on September 19th. USC Upstate will get a week off before traveling to Longwood on September 26th.
The program will celebrate Alumni Weekend on Saturday, October 3rd against Radford with a scheduled 6:30 pm kickoff. Details on festivities for Rifle and Spartan alumni will be announced in later this summer. Defending Big South champion, High Point, visits Spartanburg on October 9th before the team hits the road again to take on Gardner-Webb on October 17 and the renewal of the Ingles I-26 Rivalry against UNC Asheville on October 24th. The home finale is Halloween night, October 31, against Winthrop.
Sandwiched within the Big South slate are two additional non-conference games, September 29th at Elon and the aforementioned tilt against one of last year's College Cup participants, Furman, on the road October 20th.
The Big South Championship will begin November 4th with seeds 3 through 6 in action. The Semifinals are held, Saturday, November 7 on the site of seeds 1 and 2 with the championship held on the campus of the highest remaining seed the following Saturday, November 14.
Connect with the Spartans
Facebook.com/UpstateAthletics
X (Twitter) | @UpstateMSoccer
Instagram | @Upstatemenssoccer
Youtube.com/UpstateSpartans
