By: Seth Burgess
Following a very successful 2023 season, the USC Upstate Women’s soccer team has earned the 2 seed in the upcoming Big South Conference Championship Tournament.
The Spartans, whose overall record was 10-3-4 (6-2-0), will play the 3 seeded High Point Panthers in the semifinals to see who will advance to the conference championship game against the winner of the 1 seeded Radford Highlanders and the 4 seeded Charleston Southern Buccaneers.
Last year’s tournament ended in the first round as Radford defeated the Spartans 1-0 en route to winning the championship.
This year, the Spartans will rely on sophomore Dara Russo to lead them to victory. Russo, who is a forward and the 2022 Big South Freshman of the Year, currently leads the Big South in shots, shots per game, points, points per game, goals, and goals per game.
Russo will be joined by sophomores Paige Armstrong and Margret Edda Bjarnadottir, 2nd and 3rd in assist in the Big South, and senior Cora Brendle, the returning 2022 Goalie of the Year.
If you wish to support the Spartans as they compete for a conference championship, the tournament will be played at the Matthews Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, on Nov. 2 with the finals being played on Nov. 5. All three matches of the tournament will be broadcast on ESPN+.
The full tournament schedule is as follows:
Thursday, Nov. 2 - Semifinals
No. 1 Radford vs. No. 4 Charleston Southern, 4:00 p.m.
No. 2 USC Upstate vs. No. 3 High Point, 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 5 - Championship
1/4 Winner vs. 2/3 Winner, 1:00 p.m.