SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Competing against one of the most formidable defensive units in the Big South Conference over the course of their third battle inside of league territory, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team was defeated by their nearby rival USC Upstate on Wednesday evening by a 1-0 margin.
The Spartans were able to find a small crease in the PC defense during the match's early stages, resulting in the contest's only score at the 21:08 mark to complete their fourth shutout of 2022. Facing a back line that had only surrendered nine total goals in 12 meetings going into Wednesday's affair, the Blue Hose were held to seven shots when all was said and done.
FINAL SCORE: USC Upstate, 1 – Presbyterian, 0
RECORDS: Presbyterian (0-8-3, 0-2-1 Big South), USC Upstate (4-3-3, 2-1 Big South)
LOCATION: County University Soccer Stadium (Spartanburg, S.C.)
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Improving to their second conference victory in three tries by the same 1-0 score that allowed them a win over High Point last week, USC Upstate was granted the W once Dara Russo found the back of the net in the 22
nd minute to put the pressure on PC to respond. Bouncing three shots in the opening half and four in the second, the Blue Hose were unable to do so which led to the one-score decision.
Freshmen starters
Sloan Spees and
Hannah Austin each picked up a pair of those Presbyterian shots in the close loss, as the Spartans' first half strike was placed within a 45-minute window that saw all 11 combined shot opportunities need to be saved by either keeper in order to prevent a much busier scoreboard.
Starting goalie
Kelly Hall contributed eight stops in 75 minutes of work, backed up by an additional quartet from
Mackenzie Azuero in the early going due to some injury complications to the former. Hall never conceded a Spartan score, bumping up her save percentage to.734 in over 800 total minutes on the field.
UP NEXT:
The only team responsible for putting an L in Upstate's Big South resume thus far on the semester, the Buccaneers of Charleston Southern stand next in line to meet the Blue Hose over the weekend, should local weather not intervene. CSU will roll into the weekend with back-to-back victories by a combined 4-0 deficit over the Spartans and UNC Asheville, holding a 4-6-1 record altogether.
Since joining the NCAA's Division I ranks, Presbyterian has captured the W in six of their 15 meetings with the Bucs, including two straight in 2019 and '20 before a 2-0 setback on the road a year ago.
First touch at Martin Stadium is scheduled for 7:00, weather permitting. Stay tuned to gobluehose.com for continued weather updates should scheduling change over the weekend due to nearby inclement weather.
