SPARTANBURG, S.C. — The High Point University women's soccer team fell to USC Upstate on a brisk Saturday night, 3-1.
SITE: County University Soccer Stadium
SCORE: High Point 1, USC Upstate 3
RECORDS: High Point (5-5-3, 2-1-1), USC Upstate (5-4-3, 2-1-1)
Head Coach Aaron McGuiness: "I think we were unlucky with the penalty call in the first half, but we came back and equalized, which was very nice to see. We kept on fighting. In the second half, I think they took their chances, and we didn't. For whatever reason, they had a little bit more fire in their belly to get the job done. We need to look at that and approach Wednesday's game with a lot more determination to get the win across the line."
Scoreless until the 40th minute, the match begin to shift when a VAR review flipped possession for an Upstate penalty kick. Hannah Johnson converted the PK to take the lead, and then four minutes later, an own goal knotted the score with 16 seconds remaining in the first half.
Ellie Hammer's cross bounced off a Spartan defender and into the net to put the Panthers on the scoreboard.
HPU came out firing shots in the second half as
Lindsey DeHaven and
Meg Roden had chances.
Peyton Gilmore and
Sabba Haghgoo had solid runs to the net but were unable to connect. The Panthers have seven shots, while the Spartans had 11 with five on goal to HPU's three.
In the 56th minute, the Spartans' Dara Russo scored to snap the tie that the Panthers could never find again. Upstate added another goal in the 78th minute, which matched the most goals allowed by
Aubrey McKessy since her first start at the College of Charleston on Aug. 22.
Up Next: The Panthers are back at home for a Big South matchup with Presbyterian Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m.
#GoHPU
