Gamecocks Take On Mercer Monday Night At Stone Stadium
Aug. 27, 2017
Men’s Soccer vs. Mercer
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (1-0-0) welcomes Mercer (0-1-0) to Stone Stadium on Monday evening with kickoff slated for 7 p.m. It’ll be a rematch of last year’s opening round NCAA Tournament game, which the Gamecocks won 1-0.
South Carolina soccer matches are included in the Athletics Department’s clear bag policy for all ticketed athletics events in a move designed to provide a safer environment and more expedited entry for fans. The policy will limit the size and type of bags that may be brought into South Carolina Athletics events. Information on the Clear Bag Policy and other Game Day Policies can be found online.
FROM THE COACH
“We know we can expect a really tough game from Mercer. They are another one of the many NCAA Tournament teams (from 2016) on our schedule this year. We beat them in the first round of the tournament, so we know their quality. Furthermore, they return nearly their entire team from last year, so this will be a big challenge for our team so early in the season with the number of young players that we have. We’ve gotten off to a good start, and I like the spirit and the attitude the group has shown. It should be a good matchup.” — South Carolina head men’s soccer coach Mark Berson
SCOUTING MERCER
The Bears are coming off a 13-7-1 season in 2016 in which they earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2001. Mercer is the defending SoCon champions and returns eight starters from that squad. They are led by one of the nation’s top returning players in forward Will Bagrou. He was the 2016 SoCon Male Athlete of the Year after tallying 20 points (8G, 4A). He was a MAC Herman Trophy Semifinalist last season and a NSCAA Second Team All-American. He was of just five returning semifinalist for the award this season in the entire country. Conner Antley (4G in 2016), Kobe Perez (3G in 2016) and Jake Mezei (3G in 2016) also return for an experienced Mercer squad in 2017. Three-year starter Jeremy Booth remains in the net after going 12-7-1 last season with six shutouts and 53 saves (.726 save percentage). Booth had six saves in the team’s win at Stone Stadium on Aug. 30 last year.
UP NEXT
Carolina hits the road for the first time this year, squaring off with instate rival No. 5 Clemson on Friday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. at Riggs Field for the Palmetto Series matchup.
