Gamecocks Ready for Marshall in Critical Conference Match

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (6-9-0, 1-5-0 C-USA) wraps-up a five-game home stand tomorrow night against Marshall (5-8-3, 1-3-2 C-USA) at Stone Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 5 p.m. ET for a match that was originally scheduled to be played back on on Sept. 16 but had to be moved due to inclement weather from Hurricane Florence.
 
“Marshall is a good team,” said head coach Mark Berson. “This is a big game for us in the conference. We are coming off three, solid shutout wins in a row, and we need to build on that momentum. Playing at home in front of our great fans will be a big plus as always.”
 
The Thundering Herd sit two points in front of the Gamecocks in the C-USA standings heading into tomorrow night’s match. Only seven of the nine teams in the league advance to the C-USA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. Nov. 7-11.  
 
The conference battle will also be Carolina’s final home game of the 2018 regular season and the final home match for the team’s five seniors: Peyton Ericson, Bjorn Gudjonsson, Ian McGrane, Andre Streete and Paul Quidlies.
 
The Gamecocks have gotten hot as of late with three consecutive shutout wins. Berson is three victories away from winning his 500^th career match at South Carolina in his 41 seasons as head coach.
 
It’s Trick or Treat Night at The Graveyard against Marshall and all fans in costume (no masks) receive $1 admission. The first 100 kids age 12 and under receive a special Gamecock Trick or Treat bucket as well.

SCOUTING MARSHALL
The Thundering Herd are led by second year head coach Chris Grassie. Marshall drew with New Mexico, 2-2, on the road Saturday night. The Herd are 0-4-3 in games away from home so far in 2018. Gianni Bouzoukis leads the team with 10 points and five goals. Jonas Westmeyer, Kelan Swales and JP Rylah are tied for the team lead with three assists a piece. Seven players have scored two or more goals. Paulo Pita has started most of the team’s matches, posting a 4-6-3 record in the net. He’s allowed 18 goals for a 1.31 GAA and made 54 saves (.750 save percentage), which ranks second in the conference. Marshall has played seven overtime matches in the 2018 season, posting a 1-3-3 record in extra time.

BUZZER BEATER 
Junior striker Luca Mayr scored the game-winning goal to knock-off No. 19 Virginia Tech, 2-1, in double overtime on the road in Blacksburg on Oct. 2. Sophomore Mitchell Myers intercepted a pass just inside midfield with time dwindling on the clock and found Mayr on the far sideline. The Steyr, Austria, native laced a shot from 30-yards out on target and found the back of the net far post with 19.4 seconds to go.

FOUR GOALS IN FOUR MINUTES
In South Carolina’s 5-0 shutout win against Wofford (Sept. 19), the Gamecocks scored four times in a 4 minute and 15 second stretch midway through the second half to break the game wide open. All five goals were scored by different players and two were unassisted.
 
It marked the most goals scored in a match by Carolina since a 5-4 win at FIU on Oct. 8, 2014. It’s also the 75th time the Gamecocks have scored five goals or more in the program’s 41 seasons of competition. The 5-0 score marked the widest margin of victory in a shutout since a 5-0 win at home against Gardner-Webb on Oct. 15, 2001.

NO. 5 IN HOME ATTENDANCE 
Through games played on Oct. 28, the Gamecocks rank fifth in the country in attendance average at 2,611 fans per game. Two of Carolina’s first three games this season currently rank in the top-20 for single-game attendance.
 
The season-opening crowd vs. No. 13 Georgetown (Aug. 24) drew 4,844 fans, the 11th largest crowd in NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer in 2018.  The Gamecocks’ annual rivalry game against Clemson (Aug. 31) drew 4,441 fans, the 16th biggest crowd. South Carolina welcomed 12,937 fans combined for its first three matches of the season (4,312 avg.).

OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
The South Carolina men’s soccer team supported Ovarian Cancer Awareness all month long in September by wearing teal warmup jerseys for their matches. In addition to the teal warm up jerseys, the Gamecock coaching staff and support staff wore teal polo shirts. 
 
The team is promoting awareness for this cancer and encourages women to get regular checkups. Contact your local ovarian cancer support group for more information at 888-682-7426 or visit the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s website at http://www.ovarian.org. Remember, NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE! 

​​​​​UP NEXT
Carolina concludes the 2018 regular season with another key C-USA matchup on the road at FIU (7-8-0, 5-2-0 C-USA) on Friday night (Nov. 2) at 7 p.m. ET on CUSA.tv.