Oct. 27, 2007
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team defeated the Thundering Herd of Marshall, 3-1, in Conference USA action at Stone Stadium on Saturday. The win marks USC head coach Mark Berson’s 400th win at the helm of the Gamecock program. Carolina improves to 9-5-1 for the year, including a 3-2-1 mark in league play. Marshall falls to 8-7-1, with a 2-4-0 C-USA tally. Freshmen Mike Lindsay and Will Traynor each tallied their first collegiate goal, and sophomore Jeff Scannella chipped in his team-leading sixth tally of the year in the Gamecock victory.
“I was very proud of the way our guys played tonight,” Berson commented. “The first half we played exceptionally well offensively and defensively and really capitalized on our chances.”
Freshman forward Mike Lindsay tallied his first career goal and led USC with five shots in the win. Freshman defender Will Traynor also scored his first collegiate goal, while sophomore midfielder Jeff Scannella added one goal and one assist, and sophomore defender Mark Wiltse contributed one assist for the Gamecocks. Scannella scored the second goal of the match for USC, marking his third game-winning tally of the year. Sophomore forward Bryan Lowder also contributed three shots for USC.
In net for Carolina, freshman goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer collected eight saves, just two saves shy of matching his season high. Marshall utilized two goalkeepers in the match, as Craig Ratanamorn allowed one goal, and Brad Kennedy allowed two goals while collecting five saves for the Thundering Herd.
Avneet Shergill scored the lone Marshall goal of the match. He was assisted by Osric Flores in the 73rd minute.
Carolina marked the scoreboard early in the match, when Scannella placed a corner kick inside the six-yard box for Traynor who redirected the ball into the back of the net for a 1-0 Gamecock advantage. Scannella extended the Carolina lead to 2-0 in the 24th minute, beating a Marshall defender just inside the 18 for his team-leading sixth tally of the season.
Lindsay scored his first goal of the season just two minutes later on an assist from Wiltse, and Carolina dominated the remainder of the half to hold a 3-0 lead at the halftime break.
Marshall found momentum in the second half, scoring the lone goal of the set in the 73rd minute to near the Carolina lead at 3-1. USC continued to battle and was able to utilize a total of 18 players in the match to close the 3-1 victory.
South Carolina continues C-USA play when it travels to the University of Central Florida next Sunday, Nov. 4, at 1 p.m. ET. The Gamecocks return to Stone Stadium for their regular-season finale on Nov. 9 against Kentucky. The match will also serve as senior day for USC’s six seniors.
