October 5, 2024 – United Soccer League One (USL1)
Greenville Triumph SC News Release
Clemson, SC – The Greenville Triumph SC defeated Lexington SC 2-1 on Saturday, clinching its sixth straight USL League One Playoff berth after a go-ahead goal by Greenville native Sebastian Velasquez in the second half. Due to the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and ongoing outages, Saturday’s match was held at Clemson University’s Historic Riggs Field without fans in attendance. Velasquez’s goal proved the difference after Greenville erased an early 1-0 deficit on an own goal from Lexington after pressure from Triumph forward Leo Castro.
Greenville came out with high energy and a strong offensive attack on Clemson’s grass field, a change of surface from the club’s usual turf at Furman’s Paladin Stadium. Midway through the half, Leo Castro made a diving effort to score a go- ahead goal, just for it to be called offside. Ten minutes later, an unlucky deflection off a Lexington header in the six-yard box resulted in an own goal from Jamie Smith. Unable to equalize before the halfway point, Lexington led 1-0 at the break.
Within minutes of returning to the pitch, Greenville’s luck began to change. In the 46th minute, Leo Castro reclaimed his earlier goal when his shot deflected off Lexington for an own goal. Then in the 51st minute, in a masterful display of technique, Sebastian Velasquez received and turned the ball to release a shot into the left upper 90 for a highlight-reel score. Greenville maintained its 2-1 lead for the final 39 minutes despite increased physicality in the match’s waning moments. After seven minutes of stoppage time, the Triumph sealed the win and extended the league’s longest consecutive streak of playoff berths to six seasons.
With the win, the Greenville Triumph moved to third in league standings with a 9-6-4 record. The club will travel to Spokane, Washington next Saturday to face the Spokane Velocity. The club returns home Saturday, October 26th, for the regular season finale against South Georgia Tormenta FC.
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