Oct. 22, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 18th-ranked Gamecock men’s soccer team (7-4-2, 2-1-1 C-USA) travels to face Marshall (7-4-4, 2-3-1 C-USA) in a crucial Conference USA road contest on Saturday. South Carolina enters the contest currently ranked third in the league standings with seven points.

Entering weekend action, South Carolina is ranked No. 18 in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll, and No. 25 in the Soccer America Top 25 Poll. The Gamecocks rank No. 2 in the South Region according to the NSCAA, trailing only North Carolina in the regional rankings. South Carolina has only lost twice in its last eight contests (at then-No. 8 SMU, at No. 4 North Carolina), both losses to a pair of top-10 teams. In the stretch, South Carolina has won road contests at Charlotte, at Wake Forest and at then-No. 5 Tulsa.

In its most recent C-USA matchup, the Gamecocks earned a 1-1 double overtime tie versus league leader UCF. Freshman midfielder Bradlee Baladez scored his team-leading fifth goal of the season in the match. Baladez and senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer earned C-USA weekly awards last week, Baladez the Offensive Player of the Week, and Maurer the Defensive. The Gamecocks suffered a 1-0 loss at No. 4 North Carolina earlier this week.

Marshall is led by junior defender Jordan Hilgefort with four goals on the year, however, eleven different players have combined to score 24 goals on the season. Sophomore forward Tom Jackson paces the squad with five assists on the year. In net, sophomore goalkeeper Daniel Withrow owns a 0.93 goals against average, having allowed 15 goals in 15 matches this season.

Live stats for the contest will be available via GamecocksOnline.com.