Oct. 12, 2010

Final Stats

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The 20th-ranked South Carolina men’s soccer team defeated NC State, 1-0, on Tuesday in non-conference action at Stone Stadium. With the win, Carolina improves to 7-3-1 for the year, while the Wolfpack falls to 5-6-1. Freshman midfielder Bradlee Baladez scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season in the Gamecock win.

After failing to register a shot in the first half, NC State tallied 10 shots in the final 45 minutes to hold a 10-9 upperhand in shots in the contest. Both teams managed just one shot on frame. Baladez posted two shots, including the lone Carolina strike on goal, while senior defender Mark Wiltse and freshman midfielder Chipper Root each contributed two shots for the South Carolina attack. Senior forward Blake Brettschneider added one shot, and earned his team-leading fourth assist of the season in the match.

Tyler Lassiter, Chandler Knox and Chris Zuerner led NC State with two shots each, Lassiter earning the Wolfpack’s shot on goal in the match.

South Carolina goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer collected one save in his sixth shutout of the season. It marks his 25th career shutout, which places him just 0.5 shutouts away from matching Henry Ring for second all-time in South Carolina history in the category. NC State’s Will Mackvick did not register a save in net for the Wolfpack.

Back and forth play began the contest, but South Carolina held the majority of possession, especially during the final 25 minutes of the opening half. The best Gamecock chance of the set came with just over 10 minutes remaining. Baladez tracked down a long cross from the Gamecock defensive third, and sent a bullet across frame, but the strike went just wide of the far post to hold the contest scoreless.

After a slow first half for both sides, South Carolina began what proved to be a frenzied second half with the eventual game-winning tally just 53 seconds into the final 45 minutes of play. Brettschneider collected a ball inside the Wolpack backfield and beat one NC State defender before placing a ball into the path of Baladez, who hit a strike to the far post past Mackvick for the 1-0 Carolina upperhand.

Both teams had their chances at frame the remainder of the half. NC State had several chances late in the half, as Zuerner put a shot into the side netting with 21 minutes remaining, and David Brown followed minutes later with another strike just wide of frame. The South Carolina defensive line of Will Traynor, Mike Mangotic, Evan O’Dell and Danny Cates shutdown the remaining NC State attacks and along with Maurer earned Carolina’s sixth shutout of the season, collecting the 1-0 non-conference win over the Wolfpack.

South Carolina returns to Conference USA action when it hosts UCF on Saturday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Live stats and free live video will be available via GamecocksOnline.com.