Box Score SPARTANBURG, SC—After leading 3-1 in the first half, USC Aiken (0-2-0, 0-1-0 PBC) could not hold off a furious second half rally by USC Spartanburg (4-0-0, 1-0-0 PBC) as the 17th ranked Rifles scored 2:44 into overtime to claim the 4-3 victory in both team's Peach Belt Conference opener.
In the overtime period,
Stefan Van Der Spek sent a corner kick cross from the left side to the edge of the six-yard box finding a diving
Marlon Grant for the game winning header beating Pacer goalkeeper
Peter Calabrese.
The Pacers were out shot 9-7 in the first half but still managed a 3-2 lead at the break. For the match, the Rifles fired nine more shots than did the Pacers finishing with a 19-10 edge.
USCS struck quickly with
Jorge Atehortua's goal in the sixth minute. But the Pacers then reeled off the next three tallies to surge ahead 3-1 and stun the Rifles. USCS owns the series with USC Aiken 1-12-0 with the Pacers only win coming last year in a 2-0 upset win over the fifth-ranked Rifles.
???????Haroon Saleem (1) scored on a cross from
AJ Ikourou (1) in the 12th minute.
Andre Joseph (1) wasted no time in pushing the Pacers out in front when he blasted a shot past
John Rousseau (1) in the 13th minute.
Mamadou Ndoye (1) extended the advantage to two goals on a penalty kick in the 28th minute.
But following 15 minutes of scoreless play, USC Spartanburg cut the lead to one late in the first half.
Preben Ringerike took a pass from
Ricky Charles in the 43rd minute and beat
Calabrese to set the halftime score at 3-2.
???????USCA held the lead until the final 10 minutes when
Charles scored off a
Matti Uoti pass in the 81st minute to force overtime. The physical match between these two rivals witnessed 54 fouls and eight cards.
The Pacers return to the field on Tuesday, September 10 at 5:00 PM when they travel to Jefferson City, TN to face Carson-Newman College. That match will mark game three of six-game road swing to open the 2002 season
Men's Soccer 1 2 OT Final
USC Aiken 3 0 0 3
#17 USC Spartanburg 2 1 1 4
Scoring NGCSU: Jake Nelson (unassisted, 33:00)
Shots USCS: Jorge Atehortua (unassisted, 5:42)
USCA:
Haroon Saleem (
AJ Ikourou, 11:12)
USCA:
Andre Joseph (unassisted, 12:39)
USCA:
Mamadou Ndoye (Penalty Kick, 27:36)
USCS: Preben Ringerike (Ricky Charles, 42:09)
USCS: Ricky Charles (Matti Uoti, 80:30)
USCS: Marlon Grant (Stefan Van Der Spek, 92:44)
Shots USCA 10, USCS 19
Fouls USCA 31, USCS 23
Cornerkicks USCA 2, USCS 12
Offsides USCA 1, USCS 0
Saves USCA 6 (
Peter Calabrese), USCS 2 (John Rousseau)
Cards USCA:
Nicholas Arrington (Y, 38:39);
Plamen Peev (Y, 43:53);
AJ Ikourou (Y, 75:19);
David Bullard (Y, 83:40); Haroon Saleem (Y, 85:39);
Haroon Saleem (Y, 86:37)
USCS: Team (Y, 12:22); Ricky Charles (Y, 77:43)
