SPARTANBURG, S.C. – As the early stages of the 2022 season's Big South slate roll along, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team looks to shake a wonky start to league competition in a road environment (albeit a very short distance) on Wednesday, making the quick half-hour drive to Spartanburg to battle USC Upstate.

Traditionally one of the most favorable matchups for the Blue Hose and longtime head coach Brian Purcell – emerging as the victors in seven of the teams' 11 meetings since joining the NCAA's Division I class – Presbyterian enters tomorrow night's tussle at 0-1-1 against fellow Big South schools, tying with Longwood nearly one week back in Farmville before taking a three-goal setback versus Radford last Saturday.

Winning two of the last three in the series, PC will take on USC Upstate at 7:00 on Wednesday.
 
WHEN: Wednesday, September 28
WHERE: County University Soccer Stadium (Spartanburg, S.C.)
TIME: 7:00 p.m.
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-7-3), USC Upstate (3-3-3)
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT:
Sharing four nonconference opponents between the two of them before entering league territory, PC and the Spartans possess a similar background going into tomorrow's event, both sitting with three draws on their resume. Coincidentally, USC Upstate began their season with back-to-back ties against Davidson and Appalachian State before claiming an outright win in three of their seven matches since.

After tallying their third stalemate of the fall versus VMI in their final nonconference venture, the Spartans opened league domain with a 1-0 triumph on the road over High Point thanks to an 11^th-minute goal that turned out to be all they needed for the W. However, Charleston Southern cushioned Upstate's momentum last weekend with a 2-0 shutout over head coach Sharif Saber's club, sending PC's nearest rival to three wins and three losses approaching Wednesday night's clash.

Gathering two of their three W's away from Spartanburg – including a 2-1 victory in Greenville against Furman nearly three weeks back – the Spartans have allowed the second-fewest number of goals among all Big South programs with only nine scores given up, accumulating 39 total saves while holding three teams scoreless over an entire 90-minute duration.

Dara Russo sits inside the conference's top ten in total shots – five behind PC true freshman Sloan Spees, who places second with 29 – putting Upstate in the midst of a five-match string involving four home designations.
 
LAST TIME OUT:
After securing a 1-1 deadlock with Longwood behind a 59^th-minute strike from returning graduate Kori Lawrence, the Blue Hose were bested in their Big South home opener over the weekend, dropping a 5-2 decision to Radford in a contest that only stood at 1-0 going into the halftime break.

Despite the loss, Presbyterian was lifted to some positive developments in the second chapter of conference encounters, namely the first career goal off the boot of Madison Hindman at the 56:40 stamp and the fourth score of the semester from Spees to extend her team-high mark.

Each of PC's meetings with USC Upstate since joining the Big South have been decided by two goals or less, highlighted by four straight Blue Hose wins over the Spartans from 2013-16. Since that point, both sides have been relatively even with each other, setting the stage for a match that could swing in either direction as coach Purcell's unit aims for conference win #1.
 
HOW TO WATCH/FOLLOW:
Wednesday's affair in Spartanburg will be broadcasted live via ESPN+. A direct link to that video feed, as well as a statistical page, can be found at the top and bottom of this page.
 
PC vs. USC Upstate Live Video - https://www.espn.com/watch/player?id=a3a7edd7-5fc0-4706-8575-92a1f5b1133d
PC vs. USC Upstate Live Stats - https://upstatespartans.com/sidearmstats/wsoc/media