April 1, 2014

ATLANTA, Ga. – The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team played the Atlanta Silverbacks of the North American Soccer League (NASL) to a 0-0 draw in a spring friendly at Atlanta Silverback Park on Sunday afternoon.

“The Silverbacks were a good test for us and the team performed well. The match was hard fought and played at a fast tempo – which is what we need to experience to improve,” South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said of the contest. The first half was pretty even, and they took it to us a little bit in the second half – although we created some decent chances.

“We’ve had more than 40 guys go on to play at the professional level, and matches like this not only help us get better, but they show the guys what that next level is like. We had a great Gamecock crowd on hand to support us. I want to thank (Coach) Eric Wynalda and the Silverbacks organization for hosting us.”

The Silverbacks were able to create scoring opportunities, but the Gamecock defense was there to alter or snuff out the attempts.

In the final 15 minutes of play, the Gamecocks pressured the Silverbacks, looking for the deciding goal, but could not punch a ball in.

A combined effort in goal from Robert Beebe in the first half and Marco Velez in the second kept the ball from the back of the net. The impressive performance from the duo included a pair of saves from Velez in the final five minutes to preserve the shutout.

The Atlanta Silverbacks FC won the 2013 NASL Spring Season Championship.

South Carolina is back on the pitch for more spring action this weekend, taking on UNC-Greensboro and UNC-Wilmington at the Manchester Cup in Rock Hill, S.C. The matches are set for 12:30 and 5:30 p.m., on Saturday.