CLINTON, S.C. – The Presbyterian College women's soccer team submitted their best offensive effort of the 2026 season on Tuesday night, beating South Carolina State at Martin Stadium by a 4-2 decision in the non-conference closer.
Sophomore
Maddie Smith locked in her second brace of the campaign to officially become the highest-scoring PC player in a single year since 2019, while the Blue Hose added to their advantage with goals by
Katy Verdery and
Anna Hussey.
Head coach
Matt Smith's unit pieced together their first three-score opening half since beating Alabama State 5-0 last season, keeping control for the majority of Tuesday's match thanks to 26 shots and a season-high 14 corner kicks.
Presby has now defeated South Carolina State in each of the past three years (combining for 10 goals in those affairs), owning a seven-game winning streak over their Orangeburg opponent.
Each of the next five matches are within the Big South barriers, getting back to conference business this weekend when Charleston Southern comes to town at noon.
FINAL SCORE: Presbyterian, 4 – South Carolina State, 2
RECORDS: Presbyterian (3-6-1, 0-3)…South Carolina State (0-12-1)
LOCATION: Martin Stadium (Clinton, S.C.)
BEST OF THE DECADE
- No Presbyterian player had managed to equal the mark of Morgan Hutchison's seven goals seven years ago until Smith accomplished that feat with connections in the 11
th and 43
rd minutes.
- Her second strike put PC ahead 3-1 at halftime with an assist by freshman
Avery Kornafel (her first career point).
- Only UNC Asheville's Lili Adams and USC Upstate's Liana Bryant have topped the seven goals that Smith has secured, with plenty of near opportunities to advance further up the ladder.
CHADD HITS SIXTY
- Tuesday was a milestone moment for senior defenseman
Lyla Chadd, a true ironwoman who participated in her 60
th collegiate contest.
- The Charlotte native has started all but one of those 60 games, playing the full 90 minutes for the 52
nd occasion in her illustrious time wearing the Blue Hose kit.
- Chadd has been on the field for 5,357 out of a possible 5,420 minutes since she arrived on Presbyterian's campus. In other words, she has played 98 percent of the time from 2023 to the present day.
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Smith tallied the first goal of the night at the 10:23 stamp, PC's second-quickest score in any game this season (bested only by
Emilia Lieber's quick hit in the sixth minute of a win over Newberry).
- The two in-state opponents scored three combined goals in the final seven minutes of the opening period, with Verdery making it 2-0 Scotsmen at 38:33 on a close-range header.
- S.C. State trimmed the deficit in half soon after, but Smith returned the lead to two points with her seventh goal of the fall just before the buzzer.
- The score remained 3-1 in PC's favor until the 73
rd minute when the Bulldogs bounced a surprising goal to pull within one again.
- Just five minutes later, Hussey gave her side some breathing room with one of the dandiest goals of the year from just inside the midfield stripe.
- Rookie keeper
Alexa Garcia stopped three S.C. State shots that were on-line, playing the full 90 along with Chadd,
Peyton Michael,
Cassidy Oldham, and
Nanna Niva.
- Tuesday's six combined goals is the highest-scoring game involving Presbyterian this season. In fact, it's their highest-scoring match of the entire
Matt Smith era (a 2022 scrap with Radford was the last time that PC was involved in a game with at least six total goals).
