April 1, 2003

The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team defeated Winthrop 5-1 on Friday evening and Hampden Sydney 5-2 on Sunday at the Graveyard.

Freshman striker Ben Link had a sensational weekend with six goals, notching a hat trick in each of the games. Against Winthrop, the Gamecocks came back from a 0-1 deficit with three goals from Link and a goal each by sophomore JC Desriac and senior Jordan Quinn to provide the final margin.

Link continued his torrid pace on Sunday, leading the Gamecocks with three goals against Hampden Sydney in the 5-2 win. Junior midfielder Jack Cummings also had two goals for Carolina. Junior Zac Jordan and freshman Geoffrey Anatole split time in goal both matches for the Gamecocks.

Coach Mark Berson was pleased with his team’s effort in the opening weekend. “Number one, it was great for us to get out and play. Our team has been training hard and this is the first chance we have had to play in competition since last fall. We did some things well, and we showed we have work to do in other areas. Ben had a terrific performance, and a lot of our younger players got a lot of time. This what the spring is all about. It gives us an opportunity to see who can take more responsibility for us in the fall. This is a good start.”