Sept. 18, 2011

Final Stats

COLUMBIA, S.C. – Behind two second-half goals, the South Carolina men’s soccer team earned a come-from-behind victory over High Point on Sunday in the final contest of the Gamecock Classic, held at Stone Stadium this weekend. Freshman midfielder Braeden Troyer scored the equalizer for Carolina, while senior midfielder Stephen Morrissey earned the game winner on a penalty kick in the 57th minute of play.

Kentucky won the Gamecock Classic with a 2-0-0 record at the event with wins over High Point and Brown. Brown finished second, followed by South Carolina and High Point. UK’s Tyler Riggs was the tournament’s offensive MVP, while Brown’s Alex Markes earned defensive MVP honors.

“Today our guys really rose to the occasion and came back again,” South Carolina men’s soccer coach Mark Berson said. “That is another game this year that we have come back and answered. I’m very proud of them for that. A really good win, an important win. The style in which the guys came back and battled and made it happen, I’m very proud. High Point is a good team and they will be one of the top contenders in The Big South. This is a good win for us.”

South Carolina (2-4-1) held a 12-6 advantage in shots in the match, including a 4-2 upperhand in shots on goal. Junior Mike Mangotic, who earned the start at the forward position on Sunday, led the squad with three shots, while Morrissey and senior midfielder Vance Benson each contributed one shot.

Troyer’s tally was the second of the year, while Morrissey now leads the team with three goals. Sophomore defender Trevor Hubbard collected his second assist of the season, while freshman forward Snoopy Davidson earned the first assist of his career, both on Troyer’s score.

South Carolina netminder Alex Long collected one save in the match, while High Point’s Michael Chesler earned two saves. The Panthers (1-4-1) were led by Karo Okiomah with the goal on an assist from Shawn Sloan. Okiomah paced the team with three shots.

High Point scored just 11 minutes into the match on a long pass out of its defensive third. Sloan sailed a long clearance into the path of Okiomah who hit a strike to the far post past Long for the 1-0 HPU score.

The score held through halftime before the Gamecocks tallied two goals within two minutes late in the second half. Troyer tallied the equalizer in the 56th minute on a deflected shot past the High Point goalkeeper. Davidson touched a pass to Hubbard, who found Troyer for the one-time shot at the near post to knot the score at 1-1.

South Carolina scored the eventual game winner just over one minute later. Mangotic brought the ball across the endline into the High Point 18-yard box and was fouled, drawing a PK opportunity for Carolina. Morrissey sent a shot to the right side of goal to give the Gamecocks a 2-1 lead that would hold through 90 minutes.

South Carolina continues non-conference action when it hosts Wake Forest on Wednesday at Stone Stadium. Game time is set for 7 p.m. ET.

The complete All-Tournament Team can be found below:

All-Tournament Team:
Tyler Riggs, Forward, Kentucky
Matt Lodge, Forward, Kentucky
Josh McCrary, Midfielder, Kentucky
Brad Walker, Defender, Kentucky
T.J. Popolizio, Forward, Brown
Alex Markes, Defender, Brown
Sean Rosa, Forward, Brown
Braeden Troyer, Midfielder, South Carolina
Mike Mangotic, Defender/Forward, South Carolina
Michael Chesler, Goalkeeper, High Point
Adam Sewell, Midfielder, High Point

Offensive MVP: Tyler Riggs, Kentucky
Defensive MVP: Alex Markes, Brown