Men's Soccer . June 14, 2018

Men's soccer announces 2018 schedule

June 14, 2018

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina men’s soccer announced its 2018 schedule Thursday afternoon. The Gamecocks’ slate features 17 regular-season matches with 11 home bouts at Stone Stadium, including exhibition matches against Duke (Aug. 15) and Gardner-Webb (Aug. 18) to open the year.

Carolina will officially kick off the season on Friday, Aug. 24, at home vs. Georgetown at 7 p.m. The Hoyas are fresh off an NCAA Tournament appearance in which they earned the No. 14 overall seed after going 14-3-2 in 2017. It will be the first ever meeting between the two programs.

The Gamecocks then have a midweek game against Lipscomb at home on Monday, Aug. 27, before renewing their annual Palmetto Series rivalry with instate foe Clemson on Friday, Aug. 31, at The Graveyard. Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. The Tigers are coming off an NCAA Tournament appearance in which they earned the No. 8 national seed after going 12-5-1. Carolina fans helped set a new Stone Stadium single-game attendance record the last time the two met in Columbia, when 6,892 people attended the rivalry matchup. Seven of the 10 largest crowds in program history have been versus Clemson.

Carolina will have four more matches against NCAA Tournament teams (at Old Dominion Sept. 23, at Virginia Tech Oct. 2, vs. Wake Forest Oct. 16 and at FIU Nov. 2). The Gamecocks play three home matches in the month of September and four-straight home matches to end the month of October.

The 2018 Conference USA Tournament will take place Nov. 7-11 at Transamerica Field in Charlotte, N.C.

All start times listed are subject to change. A TV schedule of games will be announced at a later date. Fans can purchase joint season tickets with Carolina women’s soccer by clicking here. Adult tickets are $25 and youth tickets are $10. Carolina has finished in the top five in national attendance average four consecutive seasons.

The 2017 Gamecocks went 6-9-2 (2-4-2 C-USA) and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014. Expectations will be high as Carolina returns an experienced group of 15 letterwinners, including 18 of its 21 goals and 16 of the team’s 24 assists.