CHARLESTON, S.C. - Charleston Southern was unable to overcome an early two goal deficit on Friday afternoon at Blackbaud Stadium as the Buccaneers fell to visiting USC Upstate, 2-1.

Allison Lewis scored her first goal of the 2013 season, connecting on a shot in the 80th minute for the Bucs to cut the deficit to one at 2-1, but early goals by Kenzie Major and Shauna Kain proved to be the difference for the Spartans in their win.

"We started out flat, just not with a lot of energy and that hurt us," commented head coach Eric Terrill following the match. "Give all the credit to Upstate, they were able to capitalize on us early in the first 15 minutes and put two in early. I thought the game leveled out, but they had the more physical play early in the first half, as the second half went on, we were able to attack at times and we had some great opportunities but weren't able to finish them."

The loss sends Charleston Southern to 3-4-1 for the season, while Upstate improves to 3-4-2 overall on the year.

Upstate took control of the tempo early in the contest with Mollie Waters narrowly missing out on the opening goal of the game at the 5:28 mark when her shot from eight yards out hit off the left post, but Major followed less than a minute later, taking advantage of a one-on-one situation to push the opening goal into the net. The cross from Rachel Carr came from the right wing and was one-timed into the upper right corner of the net past CSU goalkeeper Dana McLaughlin at the 6:10 mark to stake the Spartans to the early lead.

Emma Faubert launched the Bucs' first shot attempt of the game at the 12:09 mark, but her attempt was saved by Spartans' goalkeeper Sarah Plantz to keep the Bucs off the board.

Kain doubled the Upstate advantage four minutes later, connecting on a goal at the 16:19 mark off the assist from Waters and Haley Gethin for the 2-0 lead. The free kick launched by Waters was deflected into the box by Gethin to the feet of Kain who beat McLaughlin in the one-on-one opportunity from six yards out.

The ball stayed in the midfield for the remainder of the first half with CSU mounting two opportunities late in the opening period, but shots by Lewis and Toni Lashley were saved by Plantz as the teams went into the break with the 2-0 advantage for the Spartans still intact.

The second half saw Charleston Southern rally back and mount a challenge to the USC Upstate defense as the Bucs outshot the Spartans 14-6 over the final 45 minutes.

Lashley had the first scoring opportunity of the period, receiving the long pass from Chloe Urig in the 52nds minute, racing behind the Spartans' defense and beating Plantz to the ball at the top of the box. However, her shot attempt from 12 yards out was deflected off the diving save by Plantz and out of bounds to keep the shutout intact.

Both teams continued to battle for possession in the half before Lewis took one back for Charleston Southern in the 80th minute as the senior midfielder connected on her first goal of the 2013 season. Lewis stopped the clearance pass outside the box and shot from the upper right corner, curving the ball over Plantz and into the left side of the goal near the post at the 79:13 mark to halve the Upstate lead at 2-1.

"In practice last week, she was scoring some really nice goals and you could see her starting to come around," Terrill had to say about Lewis' goal in the second half. "Like a hitter in baseball, she's been in a bit of a slump and had some confidence issues, but it was a wonderful goal."

Sensing the opportunity, the Buccaneers had several chances to tie the contest and send it into overtime.

Lashley nearly tied the match less than a minute after Lewis' goal, while Jane Vardzel had a shot attempt in front of the net hit the left post, while Plantz made three huge saves to keep the Bucs off the scoreboard.

CSU's final attempt came in the last 10 seconds of the match as Chelsea Frankeny's attempt with time winding down was snagged by Plantz as the clock expired to end the match.

Charleston Southern outshot USC Upstate 20-12 in the match and had the edge on corner kicks at 3-2. Plantz made eight saves for the Spartans in the net, while McLaughlin had three in the loss.

The Buccaneers return to the road on Wednesday as CSU opens Big South Conference play in Lynchburg, Va., as Charleston Southern takes on Liberty. Kickoff between the Bucs and the Flames is set for 3 p.m.