Story provided by USC Upstate Athletics Department
Photo by Emma Hudson
The USC Upstate women’s soccer team is officially the Big South Conference regular season champion! The Spartans capped off their conference campaign in emphatic fashion Wednesday evening, cruising to a 4-0 victory over Gardner-Webb at Greene-Harbison Field to secure the regular season crown.
With the victory, USC Upstate improves to 12-2-4 overall and finishes Big South play unbeaten at 7-0-1, cementing its place atop the conference standings and securing the top seed in the Big South Women’s Soccer Championship.
With the regular season championship secured, the Spartans now turn their attention to postseason play. Tickets for the Big South Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals are available now, and fans are encouraged to secure their seats to support Upstate in its pursuit of a conference tournament title.
The Spartans were led offensively by Jasmyn Mitchner, who recorded a brace, while Annabelle Wunderlich delivered a four-point performance with a goal and two assists. Liana Bryant also found the back of the net as Upstate overwhelmed the Runnin’ Bulldogs with four unanswered goals.
How It Happened
USC Upstate wasted little time establishing control of the match, breaking through in the 14th minute. Mitchner opened the scoring at the 13:15 mark, finishing an opportunity created by Raegan Bell and Wunderlich to give the Spartans an early 1-0 advantage.
Just over nine minutes later, Wunderlich doubled the Upstate lead. After drawing a penalty opportunity in the 23rd minute, the defender stepped up and converted from the spot at 22:29, pushing the Spartans ahead 2-0.
Upstate continued to apply pressure throughout the opening half, carrying its two-goal advantage into the break while holding a 6-2 edge in shots.
The Spartans maintained their momentum in the second half, continuing to generate scoring opportunities as they looked to put the finishing touches on their championship-clinching performance.
In the 72nd minute, Bryant extended the lead to 3-0, finding the back of the net at 71:10 following assists from Wunderlich and Giulia Altomare. The goal marked Bryant’s 10th of the season.
Mitchner put the exclamation point on the evening in the 86th minute, scoring her second goal of the match at 85:31 to complete the 4-0 shutout and send the Spartans into the postseason as Big South regular season champions.
Defensively, Upstate was equally impressive, limiting Gardner-Webb to just four shots throughout the contest. Goalkeeper Hannah Wilt collected two saves to preserve the clean sheet and help the Spartans close out their unbeaten conference campaign.
Up Next: Big South Championship Semifinals
With the Big South regular season championship officially secured, USC Upstate enters the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed and shifts its focus toward capturing the Big South Tournament Championship.
Tickets for the Big South Women’s Soccer Championship semifinals are on sale now. Purchase tickets by going to Ticket Return.
The Spartans will look to carry the momentum of their unbeaten conference season into postseason play with a trip to the conference championship match on the line.
Read more on the Upstate Spartans website.