Bucs punch ticket to Big South tournament with 2-1 win over Spartans

CHARLESTON, S.C. – In the biggest match of the year, the Charleston Southern Buccaneers defeated the top team in the Big South on Wednesday, winning 2-1 against the USC Upstate Spartans at CSU Soccer Field.
 
The Bucs (9-4-4, 4-2-2 in conference) needed a win over the Spartans (10-3-4, 6-2-0 in conference) in order to guarantee themselves a spot in the Big South Tournament as a top-four seed.
 
Reese Beggs scored one of the biggest goals of the season for the Buccaneers in a 1-1 match, as she gave Charleston Southern the 2-1 lead with a shot off of her right foot with under five minutes to go. The shot was originally blocked, but she was able to recover and get it in the top right corner of the goal.
 
Upstate scored first in the 27^th minute, as scored the match’s first goal; however, Charleston Southern stormed back, as Daniela Contreras tied the match in the 37^th minute, where things would stay heading into halftime.
 
Scoring Summary
27:34 (UPST) – Dara Russo (Paige Armstrong, Savannah Noll)
37:00 (CSU) – Daniela Contreras
86:13 (CSU) – Reese Beggs 
 
The Spartans had more shots in the first half with eight compared to the Bucs’ three, but the Bucs changed that in the second half with nine shots compared to the Spartans’ three. The Bucs had six shots on goals, while the Spartans had eight. Jenna Moran had seven saves to add to her conference lead of 80. She is now sixth all-time in Charleston Southern history with 194 career saves.
 
Charleston Southern finished the regular season with an overall record of 9-4-4 (4-2-2 in conference). It is the first time since 2018 that they have finished the regular season with a winning record. They will await the remaining matches in the conference on Wednesday to see which seed they will have in the tournament as well as who they will be facing. The Big South Tournament will be held in Matthews, N.C. and will begin on Nov. 2^nd. 

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