Sept. 25, 2003

Columbia, S.C. – The seventh-ranked South Carolina men’s soccer team (7-0-0) heads to Seattle, Wash. for the Husky Classic this weekend. South Carolina will face Portland on Friday, Sept. 26 at 5:00 p.m. (EST) and host No. 19 Washington on Sunday, Sept. 28 at 4:30 p.m.

Friday’s matchup is the third meeting between the Gamecocks and Pilots. The series is tied at 1-1-0. The last meeting between the teams was in 1992, with South Carolina winning 3-1. Both previous matches were played at neutral sites.

Portland enters with weekend’s matchup with a 3-5-0 record. The Pilots three wins were against UNLV (2-0), OSU (2-0) and SMS (2-0). With eight points already recorded ( 3 goals, 1 assist), Christopher Sanders leads the Portland Pilots. He is tied with Alejandro Salazar as the leading goal scorer with three goals. Goalkeeper Luis Robles has recorded a 1.22 GAA in eight matches.

South Carolina and Washington have gone head-to-head three times, with the Gamecocks leading the series 2-0-1. Last season the Huskies visited Columbia, S.C. for the Gamecock Soccer Classic. USC won that meeting 3-1.

The Washington Huskies has an unbeaten record of 4-0-1. On Sept. 1, the Huskies tied Oakland 1-1 and defeated UNLV, Portland, Michigan and Marquette. The Huskies average over two goals per match. C.J. Klass leads the scoring offense for the Huskies. Klass has posted two goals and three assists for seven points. The leading goal scorer is Kevin Forrest with three goals. Goalkeeper Danny Waltman tallied a goals against average of .96 in the first five matches of the season.

In the past 26 years, South Carolina is 38-20-9 in road tournaments, including the two wins recorded earlier this season at the Aaron Olitsky Memorial Classic in Charleston, S.C. This is the second trip to the Husky Classic. The Gamecocks last visited Seattle, Wash. back in 1992 where they posted a record of 1-0-1. In that tournament, USC defeated Portland 2-1 and tied Washington 1-1.