HAMPTON, VA- The Hampton University women's soccer team dropped tonight's non-conference season-opener to USC Upstate 3-0 on the road in Spartanburg, SC. 

The Pirates defense had a strong showing in the opening half holding the Spartans to a single goal. 

The Spartans had an offensive edge outshooting the Pirates 29-5, 12-4 in shots on goal; making it a long evening for Hampton on defense.

"We played well for the beginning of the season," said head coach Momoh Kanneh. "We've been hit by an early season injury bug that landed four of our starters out forcing us to depend on our young freshmen in the first live match was tough. The result didn't go our way, but there's a lot we took from the game and we'll reset and prepare for Thursday." 

USC Upstate's first goal was scored at the 33:52 mark off a high left shot. Upstate took three more shots at goal but the Pirate's sophomore goalkeeper Sydney Johnson held the Spartans off with three consecutive saves. 

Hampton had an opportunity to tie the game in the final ten seconds of the first half off a penalty kick, but a missed attempt sent Hampton into halftime trailing USC Upstate 1-0.

Both teams exchanged free kicks to start the second half after matching offside penalties were accessed. 

The Spartans scored twice in the second half with successful shots to the low right at 61:26 and low left at 63:39 to give Upstate a 3-0 advantage, which ended up being enough to secure the match. 

NEXT UP: The Pirates host Radford University on Thursday, August 25 for their first home game of the season with a start time of 7 p.m. All Hampton women's soccer home games this year will be played at 4900 Stadium Rd. in Williamsburg, VA.

For more information about Hampton University athletics, follow the Pirates on Twitter @HUATHLETICS 1868 and on Instagram at @huathletics1868 or visit the official Pirates website at www.hamptonpirates.com