SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On the heels of a 1-1 draw that came with boatloads of sensational defensive moments 48 hours ago, the Presbyterian College women's soccer team continues its final push towards a potential postseason berth with a short trip to Carolina rival USC Upstate on Saturday afternoon. First touch in Spartanburg is set for 4:00 PM on ESPN+.

After concluding their midweek clash against other Palmetto foe Charleston Southern with an even tally on the scoreboard, head coach Brian Purcell's club finds themselves needing a couple of W's over their final two meetings in order to gain entry into the Big South Tournament in November.

Approaching the weekend, the fourth spot in the bracket of four remains a toss-up between the Blue Hose, CSU, UNC Asheville, and Longwood (all at two divisional wins each), making every battle at this stage of the campaign all the more pivotal.

Things could be challenging for Presbyterian in a hostile Upstate environment, going head-to-head with the conference leader (5-1 in league bouts) and an opponent who just put up a 10-0 decision against South Carolina State in their last appearance.

No one in the Big South has gathered more shots, goals, or assists than the Spartans, who will be in search of a full season without an outright loss on their home turf (5-0-2).
 
GAMEDAY INFO – SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21 | 4:00 PM
Presbyterian (3-9-2, 2-3-1) at USC Upstate (9-2-4, 5-1)
WATCH: ESPN+
LIVE STATS: SideArm
 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT
 
- Over the past 57 days, USC Upstate has tasted defeat only once – their lone Big South loss at the hands of Longwood last weekend – behind a scoring average of nearly three per match.

- Either winning or forcing a tie in 11 of their last 12 contests while outgunning the other side 12-5 when in a conference setting, the Spartans and head coach Sharif Saber have won their last three home games by a combined clip of 17-1.

- Part of that lopsided difference is attributed to Wednesday's decimation over SC State, in which five goals were produced in either half. Nya Baccelli accounted for the team's first pair less than 20 minutes apart, while sophomore Dara Russo notched a hat trick all within a two-minute, 43-second window.

- Hannah Blodget added two more strikes back-to-back to add salt on the wound, representing the largest goal count in the program's history and their fifth shutout of 2023. That bludgeoning wasn't the first time Russo recorded three goals in a sole showing, doing so earlier in the year across a 4-0 blanking of Winthrop, responsible for the fifth and sixth hat tricks in Upstate history less than a month apart.

- Speaking of Russo, she was the difference-maker when PC last locked horns with the Spartans in September of '22, landing a 21:08 blow that ended up being the lone goal of the evening. Tomorrow will denote the second straight year that coach Purcell's group faces Upstate as the visiting party.
 
LAST TIME OUT
 
- Junior keeper Kelly Hall developed an individual-high 10 saves throughout the aforementioned deadlock against the Buccaneers at Martin Stadium (seven of which came in the second stanza), stopping CSU's chances at a game-winner at the 86:55 and 89:05 stamps.

- Presby's future seems to grow brighter with each passing encounter, as the sophomore duo of Sloan Spees and Lina-Marie Müller conjoined for the third straight game and fourth consecutive team goal with 52 minutes gone by.

- Those two have added up for 20 points since August at 10 apiece. Spees' five scores place her in fourth among all conference competitors, while Müller's six assists trails only Radford's Paige Olson for the highest mark in the league.

- Although Charleston Southern was eventually able to break through and even the odds in the 74^th minute, the Blue Hose defense has surrendered just one goal in the past 286 minutes of action (shutting out both Gardner-Webb and Winthrop prior to the CSU tie).

- Since their inaugural matchup as D-I members back in 2011, Presbyterian has emerged on the winning side against the Spartans on seven occasions including a 3-1 result in the abbreviated spring '21 slate. On all five instances where PC has dealt at least two scores against Upstate, the decision has swayed in their favor.