SC United Heat win 4-0 over visiting Boiling Springs
Heat climb into first-place tie at top of UPSL Mid-Atlantic South standings
It was a very warm afternoon Saturday in Columbia as the South Carolina United Heat defeated Boiling Springs United 4-0 in UPSL Mid-Atlantic South action.
The Heat scored two goals in the first half and two more goals after the halftime break to cruise to the win. The Heat midfield controlled the tempo and patterns of play in the entire match and never allowed the visitors from the Upstate to gain a foothold in the match. With the win, the Heat now set up a massive UPSL Mid-Atlantic South clash with Soda City next weekend that will decide the regular season champion and seeding for the spring playoffs. Soda tied Charleston 2-2 on the road this past weekend to create this playoff scenario.
The Heat were the more aggressive team over the opening minutes of play and threatened the Boiling Springs net with a few half-chances during this spell of play. The Heat breakthrough was in the 25th minute when Jose Puente collected a ball at the top of the area and drilled a low shot through a crowded penalty box past the Boiling keeper for the 1-0 lead.
It looked like the match would keep this score line into the halftime break, but the Heat struck deep in first-half stoppage time as a surging run on the dribble from the midfield provided a pass that slipped Puenta in all alone for the low finish that caught the Boiling keeper in no-man's-land. Puente with the brace and the Heat with the 2-0 lead at the half.
The Heat didn't rest on this advantage in the second half and substitute Rodrigo Vicente Cercal scored another Heat brace in a seven-minute span to put the match on ice. The first goal from Vicente Cercal came from a cross provided from the right flank that he settled and neatly tucked into the far post for the 3-0 lead. Just seven minutes later in the 74th minute, wave after wave of Heat attacks caught Boiling's backline by surprise and despite the shouts for an offside decision, Vicente Cercal was in all alone as the game seemed to pause 1 v 1 versus the Boiling keeper to complete his brace and push the score to 4-0.
The teams played out the final 15 minutes and the Heat moved into a first-place tie with Soda City FC.
The Heat (21 points) now plays at Soda (21 points) on Saturday, June 14 at 6 PM at Irmo HS in the match to decide the regular season champion for the spring 2025 season. The winner of this match will have home-field advantage for the playoffs and the loser will likely slip to third place as Asheville FC sitting on 20 points will most likely move up to second spot with a very favorable match versus the seventh-place NC Ballers on the weekend.