Gamecocks travel to FAU for conference opener
Friday night marks first road match of 2018 for Carolina
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (1-2-0, 0-0-0 C-USA) heads south for its first road match of the 2018 season against FAU (1-2-0, 0-0-0 C-USA). It marks the conference opener for both teams. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET at FAU Soccer Complex and the match will be streamed live online via CUSA.tv.
“It’s a big match for us,” said head coach Mark Berson. “Conference opener, on the road and we have a lot of young guys who haven’t played on the road yet or in conference. Big challenges for us and it’s a very, very important game for us. We’re in a great spot right now heading into this match and looking forward to Friday night.”
This will mark the third-straight season the Gamecocks have opened Conference USA play against the Owls. Carolina is 4-1 all-time against FAU and 2-0 in matches in Boca Raton. The Gamecocks won 1-0 (Sept. 17) in 2016, their last trip to FAU.
The Owls are led by former Gamecock player (1998-2001) and assistant coach (2012-16) Joey Worthen. As a player, Worthen was a part of three NCAA Tournament teams and 50 wins. As a coach, he was a part of two NCAA Tournament teams and 39 wins.
Friday night’s contest will mark the first of two consecutive road matches against former Berson assistants and players.
SCOUTING FAU
FAU’s 2018 squad has quite a different look from 2017, with 21 newcomers including 14 freshman and five transfers. Eight players return from last season’s team for the Owls led by sophomore Ferdinand Solberg, who started in 15 of the team’s 16 matches. FAU opened its season out west with losses to Utah and Utah Valley by a combined score of 7-0. They are fresh off their first win in 2018, beating St. Thomas (Sept. 1), 1-0, on Gonzalo Pena Barrasus’ golden goal with 8 seconds left in the second overtime period. Through three games, the Owls have 32 shots and just seven shots on goal. Junior Hagay Jalon has started all three matches in the net FAU. He’s made 15 saves through three matches and has a GAA of 2.17. FAU is led by former Gamecock player (1998-2001) and assistant coach (2012-16), Joey Worthen, who is in his second season as head coach.
UP NEXT
Carolina travels to Greenville on Tuesday (Sept. 11) to take on Furman (1-3-0, 0-0-0 Southern Conference). The Paladins are led by former Gamecock All-Americans Doug Allison (head coach) and Charlie Arndt (volunteer assistant). Allison also served as an assistant coach for Berson from 1991-94, helping the team to three NCAA Tournaments and a national runner-up finish in 1993.
