Sept. 9, 2010

TOURNAMENT INFORMATION

Date: Friday, September 10 – Sunday, September 12
Match #1: vs. Brown, Friday – 7:30 p.m.
Match #2: vs. Yale, Sunday – 12 p.m.
Location: Providence, R.I.
Live Stats: GamecocksOnline.com

Game Notes

Carolina Quick Hits
– South Carolina is in its 33rd year of varsity soccer.
– Head coach Mark Berson is the only head men’s soccer coach in school history. He enters weekend action with a 418-168-56 all-time record at the school and a 429-173-56 career record (spent one season at The Citadel prior to appointment at South Carolina).
– Entering the 2010 campaign, Berson ranked second among active coaches in victories (428) and eighth among the winningest coaches all-time in Division I history.
– Berson is assisted by Bert Molinary, in his seventh season at South Carolina, and Mike Babst, in his fourth.
– The Gamecocks are receiving votes in this week’s (Sept. 7) NSCAA Top 25 Poll.
– South Carolina opened up the 2010 season with a 2-0 victory over its archrival Clemson on Sept. 3 in front of a nationally televised-audience on Fox Soccer Channel. Senior forward Blake Brettschneider and senior defender Will Traynor scored goals for South Carolina, with Brettschneider scoring the game winner.
– Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer earned the Conference USA Co-Defensive Player of the Week honor on Tuesday. Maurer collected his fourth-consecutive shutout of Clemson last Friday. He has not allowed a goal to the Tigers in his four-year career at South Carolina.
– South Carolina returns a veteran group in 2010, including a seven-member senior class (Sam Arthur, Blake Brettschneider, Mike Lindsay, Will Traynor, Evan O’Dell, Jimmy Maurer and Mark Wiltse).
– The Gamecocks welcome 13 newcomers to the squad this fall, including a group of 11 true freshmen and two transfer student-athletes.
– One of those freshmen, Chapel Hill, N.C., native Chipper Root was named one of CollegeSoccerNews.com’s 100 Freshman To Keep An Eye On for 2010. Root scored the game winner in South Carolina’s 2-1 come-from-behind victory over College of Charleston in exhibition play on Aug. 28 at Stone Stadium.
– A pair of freshmen scored both goals in South Carolina’s 2-1 exhibition win over College of Charleston on Aug. 28. Rookie Bradlee Baladez scored the game’s equalizer in the 54th minute, followed just four minutes later with the game winner from Root. Brettschneider, Wiltse and sophomore defender Eric Martinez each collected an assist in the contest, Martinez on the game winner.

Brown Series
South Carolina owns a 1-1-0 record in the all-time series vs. Brown. Friday’s matchup with the Bears marks the first since the 1999 campaign between the two schools, while it marks the first on Brown’s home field.

Yale Series
Sunday’s meeting with Yale marks the first between the Gamecocks and Bulldogs.

Gamecocks In Season Openers
Following its 2-0 victory over Clemson, South Carolina owns a 28-4-1 all-time record in season openers, including a streak of victories in four-consecutive season openers dating back to the 2007 campaign.

Preseason Accolades
Senior forward Sam Arthur was named to the 2010 Preseason All-Conference USA squad. He was also named to the team prior to the 2009 campaign. Arthur led South Carolina with eight goals and two assists in 2009, while also pacing the squad with 45 shots, including 22 shots on goal.

Injury Update
Injured senior forward Sam Arthur has been cleared to play after sitting out the entire preseason and South Carolina’s season opener with a foot injury. Redshirt-junior midfielder Vance Benson, who suffered a broken right leg in South Carolina’s contest vs. Clemson, will be out for the season after undergoing surgery to repair the break.

Up Next For The Gamecocks
Following weekend action at the Brown Classic, South Carolina returns home to host the annual Gamecock Classic, Sept. 17-19, at Stone Stadium. The Gamecocks will play Iona and UConn in the two-day event.

Maurer Named Co-Defensive Player Of The Week
In front of a nationally-televised audience on Fox Soccer Channel last Friday, senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer moved into fifth place in South Carolina history, collecting his 20th-career shutout, and first of the season, in South Carolina’s 2-0 victory over archrival Clemson. The win versus Clemson marked the fourth-straight for South Carolina over its archrival, and, impressively, also marked the fourth-straight shutout of the Tigers. Maurer played every minute in net for the Gamecocks in those four-consecutive victories.

Brettschneider Collects Game Winner Over Tigers
Senior forward Blake Brettschneider collected his first goal of the season, the game winner vs. Clemson last Friday. The game winner for Brettshneider marked his second over the Tigers in his four-year Gamecock career. He also tallied the game winner in double-overtime as a freshman in Clemson at Riggs Field during the 2007 campaign. South Carolina’s four-straight wins over the Tigers marks the second-longest winning streak over Clemson in Gamecock history.