Three Spartan goals in the first 16 minutes was too much to overcome as the Bruins fell to USC Upstate 4-1 in a preseason exhibition on Thursday night in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
"That first period we had a hard time getting on the same page," Bruins Head Coach Jesse McCormick said. "But our 2nd and 3rd periods were much better. It was great to see so much improvement in one match."
The two teams played three thirty minute periods over the course of the match. In the opening period, the Spartans came out strong from the opening kickoff as they moved into the attacking third. Just under five minutes into the match, the Spartans broke into the scoring column as JR Cozine fired a shot into the top left corner to put USC Upstate up 1-0. The Spartans scored just five minutes later to go up 2-0 and then added another off a solid strike from Cam Philpot on a free kick. At the end of the first period, the Bruins trailed 3-0.
In the second period, the Bruins began to find their rhythm as the team began to play better on both sides of the ball. Defensively, the Bruins matched the Spartans step for step as they turned aside opportunities. On offense, the Bruins were able to generate several looks on frame but still couldn't find the back of the net. The Spartans added one more goal in the second period to go up 4-0 with just one period to play.
The Bruins came out strong to start the final period as the team looked to get on the board. They would find it early on as Jared Simmons fired a shot past the keeper to make the score 4-1. From there, the Bruins continued to go on the attack while also playing well defensively. As the final whistle sounded, the Bruins fell to the Spartans 4-1.
"Our guys did a great job of refocusing after falling behind," Coach McCormick said.
Next up, the Bruins will play their final exhibition of the preseason against North Greenville University on August 21. The match will be played in Tigerville, South Carolina.
