Palmetto State Report: July 2
- Forrest Wimberly
- 2 days ago
- 5 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
Palmetto State Report: July 2
Soccer News from South Carolina
A busy soccer month of June wraps up in South Carolina
UPSL Premier Mid-Atlantic Final
The South Carolina United Heat defeated Sporting Soccer Academy 4-0 and Electric City defeated Gastonia FC 2-0 in the semifinals last weekend to set up an all-South Carolina UPSL Final. The Heat hosted Electric on Saturday, June 27 at the Southeastern Freight Lines Soccer Complex in Columbia and ran out a 5-1 win over Electric City. Tom Marriott continued his playoff scoring surge adding another hat trick in the final versus Electric City. The Heat now advance to the USPL National Tournament and play the Virginia Conference champs Los Toros on Sunday, July 5. The match will be held at the WRAL Soccer Complex in Raleigh, NC with a 2 PM kickoff.
Battery Thumps Loudoun 4-1 in USLC Action
Maalique Foster, Colton Swan, Emilio Ycaza, and Jeremy Kelly all found the nets for the Charleston Battery as they continue their good run of form winning their third straight USLC match. The Battery are in second place in the Eastern Conference just 5 points behind the Rowdies and play at the Indy Eleven on July 4th. The next home match is a USL Cup match versus the Charlotte Independence on July 11.
Colton Swan Named USL Championship Player of the Month
Charleston Battery forward Colton Swan has been voted the USL Championship Player of the Month for May 2026. The 19-year-old Swan is the youngest player to win the award in the history of the honor dating back to 2017. Swan commented Charleston “has been perfect for me” as he has scored eight goals in 13 total appearances including USLC, US Open Cup, and USL Cup matches. Swan has twice been called up to US Youth National team duty during his short time this season in the Lowcountry with the Battery.
Triumph Slips 0-1 in USL Cup Match in Charlotte
The Charlotte Independence converted a corner kick in the 76th minute to claim all the points in their Prinx Tires USL Cup match against the Triumph played last Wednesday night in Charlotte. The Triumph slip to fourth place in Group 6 while the Independence climb to the top of the Group 6 standings. The Triumph play one final USL Cup match on July 11 hosting the Richmond Kickers while the Independence have a massive top-of-the-group clash to decide the group winner at the Charleston Battery also on July 11.
Bantams Stay Busy in USL2 Action
The busy stretch of USL2 matches continues for the South Carolina United Bantams as they played to a scoreless draw two Saturday’s ago in Columbia before winning 2-1 on the road at Port City on Wednesday, June 24. Kemp Wilson scored in the 7th minute before Port leveled the score 20 minutes later. A red card to the Bantams might have spoiled their chances of winning, but Lewis Matton scored the game-winning goal in the 90th minute to grab all three points on the road in Wilmington, NC. The Bantams stayed in fifth place in the South Atlantic Division with the results and played hosted to Salem City on June 27 with that match ending knotted 3-3. Lewis Matton scored 8th minute to tie the match after Salem had taken the early lead in the just the 4th minute. The Bantams took the lead in the 18th minute as Lewis Matton secured his brace to put the hosts ahead only to see Salem score in the 22nd minute to once again tie the match. Salem took the lead into the halftime break with a goal in the 38th minute as the wild first half saw four different goal scorers and end-to-end action in the free-flowing match. There would be just one goal in the second half and Isaiah Whittaker-Francis would score in the 63rd minute to bring the Bantams back level in the 3-3 final result. The road trip to Asheville City on July 1 ended as a 0-2 loss for the Bantams settling them into sixth place in the division. One final home game on July 8 and one fial road match on July 12 remain for the Bantams this season.
USL W-League Bantams Slip 1-2 at the NC Courage; Draw 2-2 at Ascent
The Courage took an early lead before the Bantams scored just before the half to knot the game 1-1 at the half. Katherine Walker scored the lone Bantams’ goal, but it was undone by the Courage in the 58th minute to see the Bantams slip to 2W-7L-0T in sixth place in the very competitive South Atlantic Division. The Bantams stayed on the road last weekend playing at the Carolina Ascent in the season finale where they earned a 2-2 result. Maggie Heffernan scored in the 12th minute only to see the Ascent draw level in the 40th minute. With the score 1-1 at the half, the Bantams took the lead again in the 48th minute as Megan Bradley put the visitors ahead only to see the Ascent tie things up in the 51st minute. The Bantams finished in sixth place with 7 points for the 2026 USL W-League season.
UPSL Women’s Mid-Atlantic Updates
Royal Cavaliers FC have continued their strong debut campaign, climbing into second place in the conference with a 5W-2L-1T record on 16 points. A big 4-0 win over in-state rivals Soda City put the expansion side into a great spot looking ahead to the playoffs. In the final two games of the regular season, Royal Cavaliers defeated third-place Carolina Crew 3-0 on June 27 before defeating fifth place Soda City 3-1 on June 29 to earn a home playoff match. Royal Cavaliers will host the Carolina Crew on July 2 in the UPSL Mid-Atlantic semifinals.
The Soda City FC UPSL women have been adrift in recent weeks after earning three straight draws early in the season. The Soda women were playing home matches on the road at the OrthoCarolina Sportsplex in Matthews, NC with Irmo HS not longer available making for a tough stretch of matches on the schedule. Soda hit a goals drought during their mid-season skid failing to score in three straight games all resulting in losses. Soda found some late-season goals, but not a win, in their 4-5 loss at the Carolina FC Swarm on June 27 and their 1-3 loss at Royal Cavaliers on June 29 to close out the 2026 regular season. The Carolina Swarm finished in fourth place and opted out of postseason play, meaning that Soda City in fifth place earned the final playoff spot. Soda (0W-5L-3T, 3 points) will be on the road at undefeated, top-seeded Rush United FC on July 2 in the other UPSL Mid-Atlantic semifinal.
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