Sept. 18, 2009
EVANSTON, Ill. – The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team (3-1-1) battled No. 25 Northwestern (2-1-2) to a 0-0, double-overtime tie in its opening game of the Lakeside Classic, hosted by the Wildcats at Lakeside Field in Evanston, Ill., on Friday. Sophomore midfielder Stephen Morrissey led the Gamecock attack with three shots on net, while junior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer collected three saves to earn his third shutout of the season.
“This was a very even game and it was hard-fought from end to end,” South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said. “I’m pleased with the fact that our guys came on the road and battled hard. A tie was a fair result, Northwestern played very well as did our team. Now we have a big challenge to get ready for a very good Northern Illinois team on Sunday.”
The match was even in nearly every statistical category as both South Carolina and NU tallied nine shots, collected four saves, and the Wildcats held a slight 6-4 upperhand in corner kick opportunities. Morrissey contributed three shots, while junior striker Sam Arthur added two and freshman defender Eric Martinez, sophomore midfielder Danny Cates, junior defender Will Traynor and senior midfielder Jeff Scannella each added one shot. Piero Bellizzi and Matt Eliason led the Wildcats with two shots each in the match.
Maurer led the Carolina defense with another stellar match in net, collecting three saves in the match, while Wildcat goalkeeper Misha Rosenthal earned four saves. The shutout marked the 17th of Maurer’s career.
South Carolina’s best chance at net in the match was in the second minute of play as an Eric Martinez header was cleared off the goal line by Rosenthal. The Gamecocks also had a goal called back in the closing minutes of the first overtime session due to an offsides penalty.
South Carolina concludes action at the Lakeside Classic with a match against Northern Illinois on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. NIU defeated Lafayette 5-0 in its first contest at the Classic on Friday evening.
