Oct. 26, 2010

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The University of South Carolina men’s soccer team (7-5-2, 2-2-1 C-USA) is set to host Conference USA rival FIU (7-7-0, 1-4-0 C-USA) on Wednesday at Stone Stadium. South Carolina enters the contest currently sixth in league standings with seven points, while FIU is currently eighth with three points. The top six teams from the league standings will advance to the C-USA Tournament in mid-November.

The Gamecocks look to break a two-match losing streak against the Panthers on Wednesday. South Carolina suffered a 1-0 loss at No. 4 North Carolina last Tuesday, and fell 4-1 at Marshall during weekend action. After scoring his fifth goal of the season, senior defender Will Traynor is tied with freshman forward Bradlee Baladez for the team lead with five goals on the year, while senior forward Blake Brettschneider paces the squad with 13 points on four goals and five assists. Brettschneider also leads the team with 39 shots, while freshman midfielder Chipper Root has contributed 37. Senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer enters Wednesday’s match with a 1.25 goals against average, having collected 50 saves on the year. Maurer still leads C-USA with six shutouts on the season.

FIU enters the match having won three out of their last five contests, most recently suffering a 1-0 loss at Kentucky on Sunday. Sophomore forward Michael Muehseler paces the team with six goals on the year, while freshman forward Nicolas Rodriguez has contributed five goals and two assists. Rodriguez’s three game-winning goals are a team best. Senior goalkeeper Shane Lopez has played every minute in net for the Panthers this season and owns a 1.10 goals against average, has collected 57 saves and earned four shutouts.

Match time is set for 7 p.m. Live stats and free live video for the match will be available via GamecocksOnline.com.