May 21, 2008

USC Upstate 2008 Women's Soccer Schedule

SPARTANBURG, S.C. - The USC Upstate women's soccer team will open the 2008 season on Aug. 25 at County University Soccer Stadium at 5 p.m. when it faces Charleston Southern. Other highlights of the 19-game schedule include 12 home games, three games against teams who played in the NCAA tournament last season and the Spartans hosting the first-ever Carolinas Border Classic Sept. 12 and 14.

"I think this is a very competitive schedule for us," USC Upstate women's soccer head coach Kendall Reyes said. "Three of the teams we will play this season went to the NCAA tournament last year we look forward to facing those teams."

Six of Upstate's first seven games will be played at County University Soccer Stadium including matches against Southern Conference teams College of Charleston (Aug. 30), The Citadel (Sept. 19) and defending Southern Conference tournament champion and NCAA tournament team Furman (Sept. 22). The Spartans only road game in their first seven contests will be at High Point (Aug. 31), an NCAA tournament team and defending Big South tournament champions.

Also in the middle of the opening seven-game stretch, Upstate will play host to the first-ever Carolinas Border Classic Sept. 12 and 14. The two-day event will be composed of the Spartans, Big South school and former Atlantic Sun Conference rival Gardner-Webb, another Big South representative in Winthrop and Elon of the Southern Conference.

Gardner-Webb will face Elon in the opener at 5 p.m. on Sept. 12 followed by Upstate taking on Winthrop at 7:30 p.m. On Sept. 14, Elon will battle Withrop at 2 p.m. followed by the Spartans dueling with Gardner-Webb at 4:30 p.m. The tournament is joint venture between Upstate and Gardner-Webb with each school alternating the site of the tournament each year.

"This will be the first time we've hosted a tournament since 2001," Reyes said. "Gardner-Webb's coach (Kevin Mounce) and myself have a great relationship and each school will host the tournament every two years."

Upstate will open play in the Atlantic Sun Conference on the road on Sept. 26 at North Florida for a 7 p.m. game and Sept. 28 at Jacksonville. The Spartans will then play three of the next four conference games at home including the A-Sun home opener against Belmont (Oct. 3), Lipscomb (Oct. 5) and East Tennessee State (Oct. 13). Upstate will travel to Campbell for a game on Oct. 9.

The Spartans will close out the A-Sun schedule with road games at Mercer (Oct. 17) and defending regular season and tournament champion Kennesaw State (Oct. 19) and will host Florida Gulf Coast (Oct. 24) and Stetson (Oct. 26). Upstate will visit defending Big South regular season champion Coastal Carolina Oct. 30 in its final road game and will close the season against Radford on Nov. 2.

"The schedule is relatively tough, but the best thing about going forward is measuring where you are and we've grown with our returning players since last season," Reyes said. "Competition is the main thing that drives us and we're looking forward to it."