Gamecocks Set for Friday Night Tilt with USC Upstate

COLUMBIA– The South Carolina men’s soccer team returns to action at 7 p.m. on Friday night against USC Upstate at Stone Stadium.

It wll be Pediatric Cancer Awareness Night where coaches and staff will wear yellow shirts along with yellow warm up shirts for players to bring awareness to pediatric cancer. Fans who wear yellow receive admission for $1. Tickets can be purchased here

GAMECOCK NOTABLES

The Gamecocks have played six consecutive in-state opponents to open the season.

The Gamecocks have never lost a match to the Spartans, recording five victories in five meetings. The pair’s last match was on Feb. 17, and Carolina won, 2-1, in overtime.

Carolina was defeated in their last match, 4-1, by Coastal Carolina. The Chanticleers are atop the Conference USA standings with five points (1-0-2).

The Gamecocks played a man down against Coastal Carolina for a majority of the match after Harrison Myring was shown a red card for a collection of yellow cards in the 23rd minute of  play.

Jordan Matthews netted his first career goal last Saturday night. He received a long pass off a goal kick from Tristan Himes and beat the Chanticleers’ keeper in a scramble.

The Gamecocks are tied for 18th in the country in corner kicks per game. Carolina is averaging 7.2 corner kicks through five matches.

SCOUTING THE SPARTANS

The Spartans are coming off a 4-0 loss to Coastal Carolina. USC Upstate was shutout by the Chanticleers on Tuesday night.

USC Upstate’s lone victory this season came against Furman in which the Spartans won, 3-2, in double overtime.

The Spartans have played Clemson and ended with the same result as Carolina, a 5-0 defeat.

Scott Halkett is the head coach for USC Upstate. He is 18-42-6 and is in his fifth season as the head coach.

SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: South Carolina leads 5-0-0
Last Meeting: 2/17/2021
Last South Carolina Win: 2/17/2021, 2-1 (OT)
Last USC Upstate Win: Never
Last Tie: Never

QUOTABLES

Head Coach Tony Annan on …

… his thoughts heading into Friday night:
“I’m fairly positive about the game. They’re a very good team. They play good football, so it should be a good matchup for us. I’ve been pleased with the way we’ve been playing even though the results might not show it.”

… what he has seen improvements in:
“Our build and our find is going really well. I think our press and our transition has been improving week by week. Hopefully results will come, but we’ve got to stick to our principles and stick to what we’re doing.”

… his connection to pediatric cancer:
“It’s a cause close to my heart. I’ve had a few friends that have gone through it, but also when I was at Atlanta United, we did a lot of work with pediatric cancer patients and I got close to one of the little guys, Owen, who sadly passed away, so for me it’s close to my heart.”