Oct. 19, 2010
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – South Carolina, ranked 18th in this week’s NSCAA Top 25 Poll suffered a 1-0 loss on the road at No. 4 North Carolina on Tuesday. The teams battled through 78 minutes of scoreless play before UNC scored the game winner. The Gamecocks own a 7-4-2 overall record after the match, while UNC holds a 10-2-1 mark on the season. The loss was just the second for South Carolina in its last eight contests.
“This was a very disappointing loss for us,” South Carolina head coach Mark Berson said. Our guys played extremely hard. Even though we were a man down for a large portion of the game, we created some good chances and were unable to capitalize. Credit North Carolina, they caught us on a counter and finished the goal, and that was the determining factor on the night. We now turn our attention to our four remaining conference games and our objective is to win those games and have an opportunity to go to the conference tournament. I’m proud of our guys. They played well and very hard. North Carolina is an excellent team and they showed that tonight.”
Freshman midfielder Chipper Root, a Chapel Hill native, led South Carolina with five shots, including two on goal in the contest. Junior midfielder Stephen Morrissey added two shots, while junior midfielder Danny Cates and senior midfielder Mark Wiltse each recorded one shot on goal. Robbie Lovejoy scored the game winner for UNC, while Kirk Urso paced the squad with three shots, including two on frame. UNC held an 18-11 upperhand in shots in the match.
South Carolina goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer collected five saves, while UNC counterpart Scott Goodwin earned four. North Carolina committed nine fouls, against seven by South Carolina. The Gamecocks collected four yellow cards and one red, with the Tar Heels drawing three yellows and one red card.
Senior forward Blake Brettschneider recorded South Carolina’s first shot attempt of the contest at the nine-minute mark, before Root posted consecutive shots midway through the half, the second a save by Goodwin in the 23rd minute. Goodwin collected his second save of the set on a shot by Wiltse minutes later, and Maurer earned his second save in the 44th minute on a strike by UNC’s Josh Rice to hold the contest scoreless at the half.
After a foul that drew a red card on South Carolina in the 50th minute, the Gamecocks played with 10 players against UNC’s 11 on the field for the majority of the second half. Both teams traded offensive chances, as Bradlee Baladez sent a shot high of frame in the 55th minute and Root saw an attempt saved by Goodwin in the 56th.
The field was evened when UNC drew a red card in the 73rd minute, however the Tar Heels earned the game winner in the 78th minute on Lovejoy’s first tally of the season on a breakaway. Goodwin saved a shot by Cates and Morrissey hit a strike just high of the crossbar late in the match, but South Carolina was unable to mark the scoreboard, as the fourth-ranked Tar Heels earned the one-goal victory.
No. 18 South Carolina resumes Conference USA action with a road test at Marshall on Saturday. Game time is set for 7 p.m. Live stats will be available via GamecocksOnline.com for the match.
