Nov. 1, 2008
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team battled No. 9 Tulsa to a 0-0 draw Saturday night at the Hurricane Soccer and Track Stadium, marking Tulsa’s first non-win in conference play this season after the Hurricane opened the season 7-0-0 in Conference USA action. Tulsa entered the match on a 10-game winning streak heading into Saturday’s match against the Gamecocks.
South Carolina improves to 7-5-4 on the year with a 2-2-3 mark in conference play. Tulsa moves to 12-3-2 overall with a 7-0-1 mark in conference play.
“This was a very closely contested game,” South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said. “We had our chances, including hitting the post, while Tulsa created chances as well. Overall, I was proud of the effort, particularly in light of the demanding travel schedule that we had this week. Two of the games we played during the stretch were double overtime matches and we battled and gained a point towards the conference race in each of our matches. This is a team of fighters. We’ve come off a very difficult stretch where we’ve played three games in seven days, traveled nearly 3,000 miles with two of the games on the road, and have given up one goal and been undefeated in that stretch. That speaks to the character of this team. We look forward to a couple of days rest as we get ready for Central Florida on Friday.”
Jimmy Maurer collected four saves in the match as he recorded his conference-leading eighth shutout. It was the first time Tulsa was shutout at home since a 3-0 loss to Kentucky on Nov. 3, 2006 in the Conference USA tournament semifinal.
Sam Arthur and Blake Brettschneider both collected five shots for the Gamecocks as Tulsa held a 24-17 edge in shots. However, South Carolina’s accuracy was better as they held a 7-4 edge in shots on frame. The teams each posted four corner kicks. Carolina’s strongest look came in the 46th minute when Arthur launched a strike that hit the post.
South Carolina closes its regular season Friday when it hosts UCF at Stone Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m.
