UPSL: SCU Heat Draw Charlotte, Handle Soda City to Win Regular Season Title
- Forrest Wimberly
- 11 hours ago
- 6 min read
NATIONAL SOCCER NEWS: www.nationalsoccernetwork.com
It was a very warm, muggy evening last Friday night in Columbia as the Charlotte Soccer Academy visited the first-place South Carolina United Heat in UPSL Premier Mid-Atlantic South action. The Heat needed just a point to clinch the Spring 2026 regular season title and the 1-1 result was enough to put the Heat four points clear at the top of the table with just one match day left in the regular season.
Tom Marriott scored another wonder goal adding to his team leading 14th goal of the season which puts him 4th overall in the UPSL Premier Golden Boot race. Marriott along with several other Heat regulars entered as second-half substitutes as the squad was rotating players just ahead of a busy weekend that also included the Columbia Derby versus Soda City.
“Far from what we were expecting, I like the decisions and the decision making mostly, but our touches and our passes were not on point, and that played against us, and we just sank ourselves into desperation, wrong decisions, wrong choices, and I feel like we could have done way better,” said Heat Head Coach Ivan Vlek. “We were planning on rotate some players, give some players that didn't have many minutes, a little bit more opportunities, and we just had to go all in because with the tie, we were still regular season champions.”
The opening minutes of the match were open and free flowing as both teams moved the ball well and tested the opponent’s defensive structure. One of the best chances of the first half for the visitors came from a free kick in the 9th minute as the direct free kick required a strong hand from the Heat’s keeper Robert Morales to turn aside the shot and keep things scoreless.
The Heat had their best chance of the first half as a wild sequence in the Charlotte area after a low, driven cross led to a quick shot that rattled off the cross bar, but not over the line. The half ended 0-0 and both teams headed to the break looking for the breakthrough moment in the match.
The Heat made several changes at the half, and one such change was attacker Tom Marriott up front. The substitution paid off almost immediately as Marriott in the 57th minute collected a pass inside the left side of the penalty area and then ripped a thunderous shot across the area and off the far post for the 1-0 advantage for the Heat.
Stunned but not dismayed, the Charlotte squad kept their nerves, continued to play their style, and worked their way back into the match just seven minutes later. A sweeping passing sequence that flowed up the field saw Charlotte in the 64th minute circulate the ball up the right flank before switching the point of attack quickly from right to left to find a wind-open Jose Lara at the back post. Lara collected the ball and as he dipped inside smashed the ball past the Heat keeper scrambling across this goal line. 1-1 was the score line with just over 25 minutes to play.
From this point in the match, it was all Heat as they pressed for the game-winning goal; the Charlotte defense would bend but not break over this attacking onslaught from the Heat. Several shots were blocked by scrambling, last-ditch Charlotte defending as well as several near misses and missed connections all around the Charlotte goal mouth that saw the visitors escape all the pressure unharmed and still level in the match.
When asked about being regular season champs, 4 points clear at the top of the table, Coach Vlek said he felt “good, but I feel like the expectations that I try to set, and that I try to set as a player, and now I try to set as a coach, that's not enough. I am hungry for more and especially knowing how good we can be and how good we were in the past. I feel like it's not enough.”
“Big things (are expected going) into playoffs, continued Vlek. “Because we are number one in our conference, I think we're going to have a bye week. So that's going to be a good amount of time for us to work on a lot of things, a lot of things to be ready for the games that matter the most.”
Then, fast forward to Sunday. A pair of second half goals along with some stingy defensive work saw the Heat run out a 2-0 result versus their cross-town rivals Soda City FC. Martin Carpena scored a absolute golazo to open the scoring in the 50th minute before Alex Lopez slammed the door shut on the visitors turning in a low driven cross just minutes later to win the game and leave no doubt as to the regular season UPSL title in the Mid-Atlantic South conference.
The match was a typical Columbia derby with tons of emotional play and energy as both teams looked up for the challenge in the first half. Each team created a great chance to open the scoring early in the match but were just unlucky not to convert the moment into a goal. Soda City created a wild scramble in just the second minute of play forcing a goal-saving block from a Heat defender. The Heat would create their best look in the 15th minute as a driven cross from the left flank fooled everyone but the Heat winger who rattled the shot off the near post. After these two chances the play became more of a midfield duel interrupted by several hard, late challenges that really impacted the flow of the game.
With the score knotted 0-0 at the half, it was the Heat who emerged from the break on the front foot and this increased level of play led to the opening goal off the foot of Carpena. A quick pass in the 59th minute found Carpena alone just outside the box and he ripped a spectacular shot up and over the defense out of reach of the Soda keeper into the back post for the golazo moment.
The Heat were encouraged by the goal while the Soda defense became rattled at this turn in the tide of play leading to the second Heat goal in the 70th minute. A Heat attacker ran down a ball played deep into the Soda area to then cut the ball back to a streaking Lopez all alone inside the goalmouth. Lopez made no mistake by deftly guiding the ball off his foot kissing the near post as it rolled across the line and putting the Heat into the commanding 2-0 advantage.
The Heat closed out the final 20 minutes of the match to secure the win over their cross-town rivals and enter the playoffs as the No. 1 seed in the UPSL Mid-Atlantic South Conference. Andreas Kokoska played all 90 minutes in the Heat net earning the shutout win.
Long-serving squad member and current team captain of the Heat, Seth Hanson, praised the performance and his teammates after raising the trophy in the post-game celebrations. “At this point, maybe 5 years or so…so 8 to 10 seasons, I’ve lost count,” said Heat Captain Seth Hanson about his playing days with the Heat. ‘That’s including the UPSL national championship game, UPSL national quarterfinals a couple times…the U.S. Open Cup went we had that run to the 2nd round…I’ve seen it all”
“In today's game it was phenomenal heart from everyone,” continued Hanson. ” It’s been pretty consistent throughout this whole season. This is one of our biggest rivals, year after year…the game against Soda City….and means that little bit extra to us, so, it's a great feeling to get a win. It's been a fantastic season so far as Coach Ivan (Vlek) been doing great as our head coach. We've got a really good quality squad here. Everyone's pretty close, and I've never had a season here where I didn't think we could go all the way and win the national championship…and it's no different this season. “
“We're gonna go into the playoffs confident,” finished Hanson. “I think we can take anyone. We've got great players who like to play attacking football and we’re feeling good, feeling excited, and ready for the next game.”
The Heat ended the season with an undefeated 9W-0L-2T record (29 points) with the most goals scored (32), fewest goals allowed (7), and goal differential (+25) in the conference. The top two seeds earn a first-round bye, and the Heat will enter the postseason on the weekend of June 13 and 14.
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