Aug. 2, 2011

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s soccer contest versus intrastate rival College of Charleston on August 26 will be televised as the NSCAA Game of the Week on FOX Soccer Channel, as announced by the NSCAA (National Soccer Coaches Association of America) this week. The contest between the Gamecocks and Cougars is slated for a 6 p.m. kick off at Patriots Point in Charleston, S.C.

“We are looking forward to our opener at the College of Charleston, and we are certainly pleased to be playing on Fox Soccer Channel again this year,” South Carolina coach Mark Berson said. “This should be a great event to open the college season in the low country.”

South Carolina, which won the 2010 Conference USA Tournament and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament, was ranked No. 12 in the final NSCAA Top 25 poll last season. The team is led by Berson, who enters his 34th season at the helm of the Gamecock program this fall. He enters the season as the winningest active coach in Division I men’s soccer.

The contest marks the second-consecutive season that the Gamecocks will be featured on the NSCAA Game of the Week. South Carolina defeated Clemson, 2-0, in 2010 in the season opener on the network.

The match between the Gamecocks and Cougars is the first regular-season meeting between the two schools since the 2008 campaign. South Carolina holds a 16-5-3 advantage in the all-time series between the schools.