A Look Back: It’s been quite a while since these two clubs met. Greenville hasn’t faced Lansing since the first half of the season, and quite a bit that has changed for both teams since then. Going into the final Greenville-Lansing regular season matchup on June 15th, Lansing had a 3W-4L-4D record with 18 goals allowed and 17 goals scored. In the second half of the season, the Michigan club found their groove with a 8W-2L-5D record that included outscoring their opponents 35-19 and no home losses in 11 straight matches. Greenville, on the other hand, headed into the June 15th matchup with a 3W-4L-3D record, 5 goals scored and 7 goals allowed. The second half looked much different as the Upstate squad would amass a 9W-6L-2D record, outscoring opponents 28-16. The teams that met back in June are much different now, but so is the scenario in which both teams are playing.
The First Twenty: As starting center defender Evan Lee said, “It’ll be a dog fight. Especially the first 20 minutes.” For two teams that haven’t seen each other in four months, the first twenty minutes will be crucial to win – not necessarily by scoring, but by setting a momentum and establishing an authority. Greenville’s midfielders, led by Paul Clowes and co-captain Aaron Walker, will be vital to this goal with their ability to set the match’s tempo and find dangerous pockets of space throughout the Lansing defense.
Back to Basics: The message from Greenville this week has been to get back to the little things that have gotten them to the playoffs – clean sheets, not giving up small fouls, marking on set pieces, and combinations on the flanks. These are the details that have proved a success for Triumph SC and perhaps the details that were missing in the last two Greenville losses. They’ll look to correct these as they travel to a tough road environment aim for a win that would propel them to the inaugural League One Final.
Match Info:
Kickoff: October 12th | 7:00 PM EST
Where: Cooley Law School Stadium | Lansing, MI
Kickoff Weather: 47 degrees, 0% chance of rain
Watch: ESPN+ / YouTube (internationally)
Stats: USL League One Match Center
Watch Party: Growler Haus (12 Lois Ave, Greenville, SC)
