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Wofford College Athletics

Schedule

Composite Schedule
Nick Dyer vs. UNC Asheville
2
Wofford WOFF (3-4-0, 0-0-0)
3
Winner USC Upstate UPST (2-4-1, 0-0-0)
Wofford WOFF
(3-4-0, 0-0-0)
2
Final
3
USC Upstate UPST
(2-4-1, 0-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
Wofford WOFF 0 2 2
USC Upstate UPST 3 0 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer | | Sam Steele

Wofford Men’s Soccer’s Comeback Falls Short at Upstate

SPARTANBURG, S.C. – The Wofford Men's Soccer team (3-4-0) falls short of a comeback against the Upstate Spartans (2-4-1), 2-3, on Tuesday night at the County University Soccer Stadium.

First Half
Wofford came out in a 4-2-3-1 formation for the first time this season, looking for more width against the Spartans. While the Terriers focused on possessing the ball and making quick passes, Upstate favored a fast-paced counterattack. This was rewarded as the Spartans were awarded the first two corners of the game within three minutes.

Upstate settled into the game quicker and caught the Terriers flatfooted, scoring two goals within one minute, both from Vitalis Takawira Jr. The first goal came from a pass to the top of the box, a quick move around the defender and a shot across the net, to the top right. The second goal came from a ball bouncing across the six, cleaned up by the Senior from Zimbabwe.

A physical battle ensued, as the city rivals fought with more than just the ball. Half saw 13 fouls, three from Wofford, and two yellow cards, both of which were for Upstate.

In the 40th minute, Declan Mettee subbed in at forward. Seconds into his appearance, he placed a shot on goal that rolled past the goalie, who made an acrobatic save to pull the ball out of the goal. Despite a video assisted review, the Spartans remained on top.

Three minutes later, Upstate's counter attacking play came into effect again, as Lucas Bergfors played a ball behind the line to Tolu Fabamifobee, who was able to finish across goal, sending the teams into half, Spartans 3, Wofford 0.

Second Half
After making some lineup changes at half, Wofford looked sprier on offense, finding space in the opposing box multiple times in the opening minutes of the half. Their efforts paid of in the 52nd minute when Kalle Rahbek was able to slip a ball to Samuel Byron making a diagonal run into the box, who was able to toe poke the ball past the keeper for his first collegiate goal.

The teams traded chances with seven shots and five corners in the first 20 minutes of the half. The Terriers had the better of the chances, placing two on frame in the time period. Wofford almost closed the gap with a long ball from Eli Jackson to the Byron, where the goalkeeper fumbled the ball, but was able to pick it up before the freshman could pounce.
As the clock turned to the 75th minute, Max Talley found space out wide to play a driven ball into the box. After a scramble for the ball, Nick Dyer touched the ball past the keeper to bring the game within one.

With high tensions, a fight broke out in the 79th minute after a tussle in the corner, resulting in a red card being issued to Jakob Andersson, and yellow for Upstate. Playing a man down for the final ten minutes, the Terriers still continued to search for an equalizer. Wofford moved to a three in the back formation to move more people forward. Wofford had five shots and three corners after the card, but the late push could not find the back of the net, and the game finished 3-2.

Inside the Numbers
  • The Terriers drew four yellow cards from the Spartans, the most so far this season.
  • Rahbek now leads Wofford with three assists in this campaign.
  • Andersson received the first red card of the season and will miss the next match.
Next Up
The Terriers return to Snyder Field on Saturday, September 20, to face the Campbell Camels. Kickoff is slated for 5:00 p.m., with all action streaming exclusively on ESPN+.
 
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