CHARLESTON, S.C.- A strong first half help catapult Charleston Southern University over USC-Upstate on Sunday, at Buccaneer Field 4-0 in Charleston, S.C.After coming off of a few tough losses the CSU Lady Buccaneers got their first win of the 2011 campaign against in-state rival USC-Upstate.

The first half saw the Lady Bucs put a lot of pressure on the Spartans defense with 12 shots on frame. From the start it seemed as if Coach Terrill and Coach Rostin wanted to high pressure all over the park, sending waves of numbers forward in search for a goal. It only took 14 minutes for the coaches to get their wish granted as Aislinn McIlvenny got to the end line after beating her defender and played a driven ball back to Toni Lashley, who with a one time shot rippled the back of the net to put the Lady Bucs ahead.

The half continued at a blistering pace as CSU continued to be on the front foot with Coach Terrill and Rostin keeping their foot on the gas pedal and not letting the team cool down. "With our young team we have needed all season to figure out the right chemistry and pressing forward today helped us out,"as Coach Terill comments on the first half. The second goal of the match came as Rebecca Hollstegge found a loose ball about 25 yards out, took two dribbles and sent a rip on frame that deflected off of a Upstate defender and over the goalkeepers head to make the score 2-0 in favor of the Lady Bucs.

As the half wound down, it seemed as if CSU decided to press more numbers forward and fond themselves with a third goal. McIlvenny again was the producer of this goal as she wrong footed her defender and played a searching ball for Caroline Eriksson who had a simple tap in to make the score 3-0 in the 40th minute of play.

After getting a solid lead going into the second half the coaching staff were not satisfied and decided to press even more in search of that finishing goal to dead the match. An onslaught of shots from the Lady Bucs peppered the USC-Upstate net but none could find a way in until, the 71st minute when freshman Gina Thomas found her head on a Caroline Eriksson free kick. Eriksson played a crisp ball head height to the back post where Thomas sat waiting to knod in the fourth goal of the match. The game continued on with CSU keeping a upper hand in possession in shots on target.
As the game came to a close tempers got heated with USC-Upstate receiving a yellow card in the 79th minute and fouls began to happen more often but then the final whistle blew.

The game saw redshirt freshman Caitlin Cody, pick up a clean sheet with the aid of Casey Bolduc, Olivia Urig, Stephanie Hand, and Hali Singleton. It also saw the skill and class of Aislinn McIlvenny who recorded two assists.

The Lady Bucs have a week break until they are back in action against Georgia Southern on Sunday, September 11, at 2 p.m. at Buccaneer Field. Admission is free.