Nov. 20, 2010

The 18th-ranked and No. 7 seed South Carolina men’s soccer team (12-6-2) will host No. 24 Duke (10-5-4) in the second round of the 2010 NCAA Men’s Soccer Tournament on Sunday at 2 p.m.

GAME INFORMATION
No. 7 seed South Carolina vs. Duke
2010 NCAA Tournament – Second Round

Date: Sunday, November 21, 2010
Kickoff: 2 p.m. ET
Location: Columbia, S.C.
Stadium: Stone Stadium
Series: Duke leads 9-8-2
Live Stats/Video: GamecocksOnline.com

NCAA Tournament Central | Game Notes vs. Duke | 2010 NCAA Tournament Bracket

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 NCAA Tournament action with a 429-174-58 all-time record at the school and a 440-179-58 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.
– South Carolina advanced to the 2010 NCAA Tournament as the automatic bid from Conference USA.
– South Carolina has advanced to the NCAA Tournament 19 times in its history (including 2010).
– In NCAA Tournament play against Duke, South Carolina holds a 2-3-0 record. The teams last met in the postseason event during the 2000 season. Duke won that contest, 1-0, at Stone Stadium.
– Carolina owns an all-time record of 15-18 in NCAA Tournament contests, including a 10-10 mark in games played at Stone Stadium.
– Mark Berson led his team to the College Cup in the 1988 and 1993 seasons. The Gamecocks advanced to the National Championship game in 1993. Virginia earned a 2-0 win over the Gamecocks in that match – held in Davidson, N.C.
– Five Gamecocks garnered All-Conference USA awards in 2010: Blake Brettschneider (Co-MVP, Co-Offensive Player of the Year, First Team), Bradlee Baladez (Third Team, All-Freshman Team), Jimmy Maurer (Second Team), Chipper Root (All-Freshman Team) and Will Traynor (First Team).
– Four Gamecocks earned selection to the C-USA All-Academic Team in Blake Brettschneider, Jimmy Maurer, Stephen Morrissey and Will Traynor.
– In the final NSCAA Top 25 Poll of the season, South Carolina is ranked No. 2 in the South Region and No. 18 in the national top 25 poll.
– South Carolina is ranked No. 7 in the most recent NCAA RPI (Nov. 14).
– Will Traynor, Blake Brettschneider, Stephen Morrissey and Kevin Stam were each named to the Conference USA All-Tournament team.
– Will Traynor was named to the TopDrawerSoccer.com Team of the Week on Monday.

How They Got Here
– Carolina earned a 2-1 win over UAB in the quarterfinal round of the C-USA Tournament on Oct. 10 behind a goal and an assist from senior forward Blake Brettschneider to advance to the semifinals vs. SMU.
– South Carolina earned a 2-1 upset win over top-seeded and No. 5 nationally ranked SMU in the semifinals of the Conference USA Tournament on Nov. 12 to advance to the finals. Senior defender Will Traynor scored the game winner, his second of the season and sixth goal of the year.
– The Gamecocks earned a 1-0 win over Tulsa to capture the 2010 Conference USA Tournament title. Junior midfielder Stephen Morrissey scored the game winner for Carolina, while senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer collected his eighth shutout of the season in the win. The win over Tulsa gave the Gamecocks an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

Scouting Duke
Duke enters the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a 10-5-4 record. The Blue Devils advanced to the second round with a 2-1 win over Coastal Carolina on Thursday night. Senior Cole Grossman scored both Duke goals in the victory. Ryan Finley paces the Blue Devil attack with 17 goals and 37 points overall on the year. Grossman has 10 goals on the year and eight assists, while Christopher Tweed-Kent owns a team-best 11 assists in 2010. Sophomore goalkeeper James Belshaw owns a 0.78 goals against average on the year, which ranks 29th in the country.

Did You Know?
The Gamecocks are 9-1-1 in contests in which they score first this season, while the team is also 4-1-1 when leading at the half. South Carolina has scored in the opening half in nine contests this season.