Gamecocks headed to Furman Tuesday night
Carolina is unbeaten in its last four matches against the Paladins
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (1-3-0, 0-1-0 travels to the Upstate Tuesday night for a non-conference matchup with Furman (2-3-0 overall, 0-0-0 SoCon). Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. ET at Eugene Stone III Soccer Stadium. The Gamecocks, who are unbeaten against the Paladins in the last four meetings dating back to 2009, are seeking their first road win of the season.
“This will be a tough challenge,” said head coach Mark Berson. “Furman has a very good team and they’re off to a good start with quality results including a win against Ohio State on the road. We’re working hard to improve, and I’m really pleased with the effort and attitude that our guys are putting into training each day. We look forward to the match.”
Carolina leads the all-time series with Furman 20-8-5 dating back to the first matchup between the schools as varsity programs in 1978.
The Paladins are led by Gamecock soccer legend Doug Allison, who enters is 24th season as head coach. He was a four-year starter at South Carolina as a player and earned First Team All-America honors in 1987. He’s the program’s all-time points leader with 158 (63G, 32A). Allison also served as an assistant under head coach Mark Berson from 1991-94 helping lead the Gamecocks to three NCAA Tournaments and a national runner-up finish in 1993.
Another Carolina soccer great is on Allison’s staff at Furman in volunteer assistant coach Charlie Arndt. He went 47-11-7 as a goalkeeper for the Gamecocks helping lead them to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1986-88. He was a consensus All-American in 1988 and was named the NSCAA Goalkeeper of the Year that season.
SCOUTING FURMAN
Furman enters Tuesday night’s matchup fresh off 1-0 win at home against Presbyterian (Sept. 8). Laurence Wyke scored the game-winner on a PK in the 36th minute. The Paladins opened the season with a 2-0 win on the road at Ohio State. They dropped three tight matches before beating the Blue Hose last Saturday. Three different players have scored goals for Furman. Goalkeeper Ben Hale is experienced. So far in 2018, he’s started all five matches making 21 saves with two shutouts and a GAA of 0.80. He has an impressive .840 save percentage on 55 shots by opponents.
TICKETS
Tickets are available for $5 at FurmanPaladins.com and at the Stone Stadium gate beginning 1 hour prior to kickoff.
OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
The South Carolina men’s soccer team is supporting 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 is wearing teal polo shirts.
The team’s hope is to promote awareness for this cancer and encourage women to get regular check ups. 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 returns home to face Marshall (2-2-1 overall, 0-1-0 C-USA) in its first Conference USA home match of the 2018 season on Sunday. The match will kickoff at 2 p.m. ET. It’ll mark the team’s annual Ovarian Cancer Awareness Match and fans are encouraged to wear teal to the game. It also marks the team’s Futbol y Football promotion. Fans can bring their football tickets from the game on Saturday night against Marshall and receive FREE admission. For more information on promotions at 2018 homes matches, click here.
