Nov. 4, 2005

MIAMI, Fla. – The South Carolina men’s soccer team defeated Florida International, 3-1, in Conference USA action Friday night in Miami, Fla., at University Park. With the victory, the Carolina secured the No. 2 seed in next week’s Conference USA Tournament. The Gamecocks are now 9-6-1 overall and 6-1-1 in C-USA games while Florida International fell to 7-6-2 and 3-3-2 in league play.

“FIU is a very good team, and they’re especially difficult to play at home,” South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said. “I’m proud of the way our team played. This is a big win for us in the conference and in the South Region. Our team is playing very well at this time, and hopefully we can finish the weekend successfully (at UCF). This group has never faltered, they’ve always believed in themselves, and it was good to see it all come together in another solid performance.”

Senior Josh Alcala struck early, putting South Carolina on the scoreboard in the 11th minute. Alcala beat a Golden Panther defender in the center of the box and kicked the ball into the left side of the goal. The tally was Alcala’s sixth goal of the season while junior forward Ayo Akinsete picked up second first assist.

The score would remain 1-0 until the 78th minute when senior Ryan Deter scored his second goal of the season and the 18th of his career. Alcala collected his eighth assist of the season on what proved to be the game winner.

FIU responded at the 79:01 mark as Jean Camere scored his first goal of the season, but the Gamecocks weren’t finished.

Junior forward Mike Sambursky pushed the Gamecocks’ lead back to two in the 87th minute on a one-on one situation with FIU goalie Shawn Crowe. The goal was the fifth of the year for Sambursky.

Gustavson collected six saves to bring his season total to 64, which ranks in the top five in school history for a freshman goalkeeper. Crowe saved three Carolina shots.

The Gamecocks have now beaten FIU in each of the last six years and hold 6-0-1 all-time record against the Golden Panthers. Carolina is 9-1-1 in its last 11 matches after starting the season 0-5-0.

South Carolina concludes its regular season on Sunday afternoon at the University of Central Florida. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.