ROCK HILL, SC— Winthrop men's soccer is unbeaten in its last four games and looks to continue that streak as it heads to USC Upstate for a Saturday night showdown.   
 
GAME SNAPSHOT AT USC UPSTATE
WHO: Winthrop (4-9-2, 2-3-1 Big South) at USC Upstate (5-10, 1-5 Big South)
WHEN: Nov. 2, 2019 / 7 p.m.
WHERE: Spartanburg, SC (County University Soccer Stadium)
BROADCAST: NONE
LIVE STATS: Sidearm
FOLLOW ON TWITTER: @Winthropsoccer
TICKETS:  Free Admission

SERIES HISTORY VERSUS USC UPSTATE
Last year was the first time these two programs squared off with USC Upstate part of the Big South Conference but this will be the 17^th meeting all-time. The Eagles haven't won at USC Upstate since 1980, which was the first ever meeting between the two teams. Winthrop won that game 1-0, but the Eagles last trip to Spartanburg saw them suffer a 5-4 defeat.
 
LAST TIME THESE TEAMS MET
The Eagles and Spartans last met Sept. 25, 2018 in Rock Hill as the Eagles grabbed an early 2-0 lead but fell 4-3. Andres Carvajal opened the scoring in the 12^th minute followed by a goal from Leif Estevez in the 14^th minute for the quick 2-0 lead. The Spartans drew level before halftime as Anson Girone was fortunate when his cross actually sailed over the keeper's head and into to the back of the net. Then Ricky Maldonado buried a header off a free kick in the 40^th minute. Cam Philpot score the next two goals in the game for a 4-2 lead for Upstate. Alfie Rogers scored in the 84^th minute to pull the Eagles within a goal. Upstate had the advantage in shots (20-14) but the Eagles had the edge in shots on goal (11-8).
 
SCOUTING USC UPSTATE
Enter the contest having won two straight with 3-2 wins at Liberty and over Wofford at home. It's been an up and down season for the Spartans, who have some impressive wins. Early in the season the Spartans beat a good Stetson squad and began the month of October with a 1-0 win over Coastal Carolina. Just like the Eagles, Upstate needs a win to have any shot at making the Top 6 for the Big South Conference Tournament. Offensively the Spartans are averaging 0.93 goals per game and defensively allowing 1.88 (5^th in the Big South). Javier Torres (2g, 2a) and Pol Monells (1g, 4a) lead the team with six points each. Nico Tallarico, Aidan Hill and Pascal Corvino each have two goals apiece. While Luca Bulfon has seen the most minutes in goal this season, Felipe Baeza has also seen significant time. Bulfon has a 2.01 goals against average and Baeza has a 1.69 goals against average. Baeza was in goal for the win over Wofford and Bulfon was in net in the win over Liberty.
 
A GLANCE AT WINTHROP
Eagles are unbeaten in their last four games at 2-0-2 and coming off a 1-1 draw against Presbyterian College as they battled the majority of that contest a man down. The Eagles currently sit 5^th in the Big South Conference as they have their eyes set on a trip to the Big South Conference Tournament. With two games remaining, two wins would guarantee a spot in the conference tourney. It will be a tough task with the remaining games on the road beginning with USC Upstate. This season the Eagles are 2-5-1 away but did earn a 2-1 win at Longwood in their last conference road game. Marc Carreras has scored the last four goals for the Eagles to take the lead as the team's leading scorer with 10 points (five goals). He has scored in three straight games and is now tied for 5^th in the Big South in goals per game and 6^th in total goals. Jordan Walshaw is second on the team in scoring with nine points (1g, 7a). His seven assists are tied for first in the Big South and ranks tied for 22^nd nationally in assists and 25^th in assists per game.
 
10^th YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF 2009 BIG SOUTH CHAMPIONSHIP
This season the Eagles celebrate the 10^th anniversary of the 2009 Big South Conference Championship team. The Eagles were coming off a championship in 2008 as it lost some of the greatest players in the history of the program. The Eagles were still loaded with talent and after dropping the opener 3-1 at North Carolina State, they won five in a row. Heading into the Big South Tournament the Eagles were struggling, having lost three straight (outscored 10-1). Winthrop, seeded fourth, defeated Gardner-Webb in penalties to advance to the semifinals and then advanced to the championship after defeating top-seeded Coastal Carolina 4-2 in penalties. The Eagles went on to defeat Liberty 2-1 in the championship game, advancing to the NCAA Tournament for a second straight season. Winthrop went on to lose 3-2 at 20^th-ranked Duke in the opening round of the NCAA College Cup.

BIG SOUTH PRESEASON POLL
The Eagles were voted 7^th in the 2019 Big South Conference preseason poll. Winthrop returns nine players that started at least eight games from a team that was 3-5 in the league last year. The Eagles finished in 7^th last season, a point out of tying Longwood and USC Upstate for 6^th. Defending regular-season champion High Point is the preseason favorite while Radford and Campbell tied for 2^nd in the poll.
 
WHAT'S AHEAD
Winthrop will wrap-up the regular season on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 6 p.m. when it travels to Boiling Springs, NC to take on Gardner-Webb.
 
FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA
To keep up with the latest news on the Winthrop men's soccer program follow the Eagles on Twitter (@Winthropsoccer), Instagram (@winthropsoccer) and Facebook (/WinthropUniversitySoccer).