UPSL: Palmetto State report - March 26th

Forrest Wimberly
4 hours ago
3 min read

NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com

Palmetto State Report: March 26

Soccer news from South Carolina

Battery advance and Triumph fall in US Open Cup

The Charleston Battery advanced 2-1 over the UPSL Florida Badgers while the Triumph fell 1-3 at USL2 Asheville SC in the opening round of the 2026 Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. New signing Colton Swan bagged a brace for the Battery in dramatic fashion heading in the game-winner deep into second half stoppage time to claim the victory just before the final whistle. Greenville’s Devin Boyce scored the lone Triumph goal from a free kick in the first half of their match but a pair of late Asheville goals broke the 1-1 stalemate and sent the Triumph out of the Cup. Charleston next travels to the USL1 Charlotte Independence on March 31 for their second-round match with a 7:30 PM kickoff.

UPSL Mid-Atlantic South Results

The opening weekends of the season found all the South Carolina UPSL teams in action with some great results for the teams in the Palmetto State. The South Carolina teams are undefeated in all matches to open the spring 2026 season and again it looks to be Soda and the Heat leading the conference this season. The Heat defeated Pre-College DA 2-0 and the NC Ballers 6-0, Soda City tied Asheville 1-1 and defeated Pre-College DA 5-0, the SC Surf defeated Combine Academy 2-1, and Electric City tied Asheville 2-2. The Heat already have a massive +8 goal differential at the top of the table as fall 2024 USPL Golden Boot Winner Tom Marriott has recovered from his 2025 knee injury and is back scoring goals including a hat trick versus the NC Ballers.

UPSL Women expansion news

The Royal Cavaliers FC will be joining the UPSL Women’s League for the 2026 season. The Edgemoor, South Carolina club will play in the Mid-Atlantic and will have an instant rival in the Soda City Women just down I-77. Joseph Calbreath has been tabbed as the first head coach of the expansion side and the USC-Lancaster assistant coach has been busy signing several Buford High School players including Carleigh Reid, Claire Reid, Peyton Barnes, and Kaylynn Faile to the inaugural roster. The season kicks off later this spring.

Battery defeat Birmingham; Triumph slip to Chattanooga

The Charleston Battery moved to 2W-0L-0T on their USLC season with a dramatic 3-2 win over the Birmingham Legion last Saturday night at Patriots Point. Colton Swan scored his first USL Championship goal coming on as a second-half substitute and Emilio Ycaza scored a brace during the final 15 minutes of the match to claim all three points and earn him USLC Player of the Week honors. The Battery visit Detroit City in their first road match of the 2026 season.

The Greenville Triumph slipped 1-2 to the visiting Chattanooga Red Wolves in their USL1 season opener being played at Furman’s Stone Stadium due to the construction delays at the Triumph’s new GE Vernova Park set to open in June. Devin Boyce netted the lone goal for the rebuilding Triumph, and the next home match is against the USL1 expansion Cosmos on Wednesday, March 25 at 7 PM.