Greenville, SC – The Greenville Triumph Soccer Club will host North Carolina FC for Upstate Soccer Night this Saturday at 7:00 PM, presented by Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.
HOW TO FOLLOW
Kickoff: 7:00 PM ET, Paladin Stadium, Greenville, SC
Tickets: BUY HERE
Streaming TV: ESPN+
International Stream: YouTube
Social Media: Greenville Triumph SC on Twitter
App: Download the Triumph app for free on Apple or Android
WHAT TO WATCH FOR
GTSC returns to the Upstate this weekend for its first Saturday match since the 2023 home opener on March 25th. The club enters the match on its first win streak of the season after it bested Fuego FC 3-0, and Lexington SC 2-0 last week. Greenville faced some adversity earlier in the season, but now sits fourth in league standings ahead of its match versus North Carolina FC.
Six out Greenville’s starting eleven were honored with League One awards this week. Lucas Coutinho brought home the Player of the Week award, along with Tyler Polak, Noah Pilato and Leo Castro being named to Team of the Week. Both Aaron Walker and Jonah Biggar were honorable mentions on the TOTW Bench. Coutinho, Pilato and Castro combined have a total of 15 points, between six goals and three assists, coming in the past three matches.
Fans saw Tevin Shaw and Jonah Biggar hold down the width for Greenville once again on April 22nd but a leg injury will remove Shaw from Saturday’s lineup. Shaw and Biggar have maintained Greenville’s stone wall defense the past two matches due to a rash of injuries on the Triumph back line. After months of recovery from an offseason procedure, Greenville’s All League Second-Team defender Brandon Fricke could be back in the mix for Saturday’s match. It’s to be determined if Fricke will make his first appearance in the 18 this weekend, but Greenville will have defensive options with Daniel Wu and Nate Shultz getting healthy and ready off the bench. Hassan Gabo will also be available to give Greenville some depth after earning his first minutes last week. The Somali national closed out the Lexington match in his professional debut, solidifying the clubs 2-0 shutout.
Two months into the season, North Carolina FC has lifted themselves to second in the League One standings. They’ve recorded impressive wins against Lexington SC, Union Omaha and the Chattanooga Red Wolves. NCFC has intensified its offensive presence with some high-caliber pickups in the off-season including Rafael Mentzingen, the current Golden Boot front runner. Just behind Mentzingen, Oalex Anderson has tallied two goals and two assist this season. Their start is in stark contrast to the club’s form in 2022, when they failed to qualify for playoffs and finished last in the regular season standings. Even with a 3-1-1 record, though, the North Carolina side has shown its faults early on, losing to South Georgia Tormenta FC 1-0 in its season opener and drawing Charlotte Independence 1-1. With such an aggressive offensive, Greenville must be savvy in its defensive tactics and seek points of transition to exploit NCFC’s weaknesses.
NEWS AND NOTES
Team Updates:
Out: Ben Hale, Jamie Smith, Noah Franke, Tevin Shaw
Probable: Brandon Fricke, Nate Shultz, Daniel Wu
