SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Another Big South Conference contender awaits the Presbyterian College women's soccer team on Wednesday night, as league match number three will send head coach Matt Smith's club to nearby Spartanburg against USC Upstate.

ESPN+ will have live coverage of tomorrow's contest less than an hour down the road, as the Blue Hose search for their first conference victory against an opponent who won the Big South Championship in 2024 and was defeated in the title game last fall.

Presently, there are three schools in the division who have started 2-0 in conference matches. PC has already played two of them (UNC Asheville and Gardner-Webb) and they'll now meet the third party on Wednesday.

The Scotsmen have had some intense duals with Upstate in recent years, including a 2-1 heartstopper in the Big South semifinals two years ago.

Last season's game between the two rivals was also decided by a single point at Martin Stadium, with the Spartans escaping 3-2 on a game-winning goal in the 73^rd minute.


 
GAMEDAY INFO – WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Presbyterian (2-5-1, 0-2) at USC Upstate (6-2-3, 2-0)

WHERE / WHEN: Spartanburg, S.C. | 7:00 PM

WATCH: ESPN+

LIVE STATS: SideArm


 
SCOUTING THE OPPONENT

 
- USC Upstate has performed well in the first year for new head coach Sam Odell, starting off the league slate with back-to-back wins over Charleston Southern and Longwood by a combined 4-1 margin.

- The Spartans were also impressive in what is currently an unfinished Big South contest, leading Radford 2-0 in the 74^th minute before the match was suspended due to weather.

- Not taking any losses since September 6, Upstate is closing in on their third straight double-digit win season. Senior Liana Bryant is one of three players in the conference who has scored six goals, while Jasmyn Mitchner has added five herself.

- Redshirt-junior Hannah Wilt leads the Spartans at keeper, saving 80 percent of shots in over 800 minutes on the field. She is averaging nearly four stoppages per game.

- After claiming the Big South title two years back, Upstate pursued a second straight trophy last year only for #4 seed High Point to edge them in a dramatic penalty kick shootout 7-6.


 
LAST TIME OUT

 
- Presbyterian witnessed a string of bad luck in their most recent appearance, a 2-1 loss to Gardner-Webb which is the team's fourth defeat of the semester by one goal.

- Sophomore Maddi Merryweather tallied her first score of 2026 in the closing stretch, receiving an assist from Anna Hussey to reach a 1-1 tie. G-W answered less than four minutes later, coming away with the close win.

- Rookie Ingeborg Blystad (a native of Norway) recorded her first career start in the net, stopping two of Webb's four on-target attempts.

- Senior defenseman Lyla Chadd was not in the starting lineup for the first time in her decorated tenure with the Blue Hose kit, although she still played 72 minutes to continue her 58-game playing streak.

- PC's last victory over Upstate in Spartanburg came during the abbreviated spring 2021 campaign, a 3-1 differential where they outshot their South Carolina rival by eight.