Sept. 19, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – Behind multi-goal efforts from sophomore striker Sam Arthur and senior forward Kevan Hawkins, the South Carolina men’s soccer team shutou College of Charleston, 4-0, on Friday night in a non-conference meeting between the two intrastate rivals. Carolina’s record improves to 4-2-1, while Charleston falls to 4-3-0. Junior midfielder Jeff Scannella and freshman midfielder Danny Cates contributed one assist, while junior striker Schuyler Reardon collected two in the match. The victory marks three straight shutouts for the Gamecocks, their first win over a ranked opponent and the first road win of the season.
“Tonight we played with the intensity and focus that we’re going to need for the rest of the year,” South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said. “Our preparation this week was excellent and our players were very focused and alert and it showed tonight against a nationally ranked team on the road. I was very proud of our team for earning a shutout and it’s always good when we’re able to play deep into our bench, unfortunately we’re carrying a few injuries at this time but a number of our players have stepped up and taken place in the line up and haven’t missed a beat. I’m very proud of that quality in our players, they know what to do and a number of them had to play in different positions tonight but they came in and performed very well in a difficult atmosphere on the road.”
College of Charleston held a 12-9 advantage in shots despite the loss. Arthur led the Gamecock offense with four shots, while Hawkins tallied two and Cates, Scannella and sophomore striker Mike Lindsay each contributed one. Arthur’s multi-goal performance was his third straight game with two goals for the Gamecocks. Charleston forward Matt Morris led the Cougars with three shots.
Sophomore netminder Jimmy Maurer collected six saves to lead Carolina to its fourth shutout of the season, while College of Charleston goalkeeper Brendan Smith tallied three in the loss.
The teams traded possessions early in the opening set before a foul just outside the Cougar 18-yard box gave Carolina its first strike of the contest at the four-minute mark. Three Gamecocks stepped to the ball for the free kick opportunity where it was Scannella who assisted on Arthur’s strike to the left side of a diving Charleston goalkeeper.
The majority of play stayed in the Gamecock offensive third the remainder of the half. Arthur collected his second tally in the 31st minute on a long throw-in by Cates at the right midfield position and Hawkins struck with four minutes remaining in the half on an assist from Reardon to send Carolina into the halftime intermission sporting a 3-0 lead.
The defensive line held strong, as Maurer made a stellar save on a shot to his right side at the 22-minute mark off the foot of Kareem Yearwood and a Charleston header attempt deflected off the bar just minutes later.
Charleston played aggressively to open the second half, collecting two yellow cards in the first four minutes of action. The Cougars continued to pepper the Gamecock defense throughout the set before Carolina was able to settle the pace of play.
The Gamecock offensive regained steam throughout the half and Hawkins and Reardon connected for the second time on the night to cap the Carolina lead to 4-0. Reardon sent a long throw in to the far post, finding Hawkins who headed the ball past Smith for the fourth Gamecock tally.
A missed penalty kick in the 83rd minute by Cougar Wes Knight sealed the victory for Carolina.
South Carolina continues non-conference action on Sept. 24 when it travels to face Furman in a 7 p.m. match in Greenville.
