Oct. 18, 2011

Final Stats

COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s soccer team (7-5-1) defeated North Carolina State (6-7-2) 2-0 on a rain soaked night at Stone Stadium on Tuesday. The wet night was marked by steady rain that at times turned heavy during the match.

“I’m glad to not have to stand here and say we came from behind again tonight,” said South Carolina head coach Mark Berson. “NC State is a very good team. They’re well organized and they’re tough to break down. I’m glad to see us get the goals and also tonight get a shut out. That was a good accomplishment tonight.

“We said early that this team was going to be a little bit young and that they were going to have to learn and have to get experienced. I think they’ve done that. It’s all been a part of the plan. They’ve all bought in and they’ve all done a great job,” added Berson.

NC State went into the half with a 5-4 upperhand in shots, but the match ended with a 16-9 Gamecock advantage. The Wolfpack only collected one shot on goal, while the Gamecocks recorded nine.

Gamecock freshman forward Snoopy Davidson had a career night, as he scored both goals for South Carolina. Sophomore forward Bradlee Baladez led the Gamecocks with five shots in the win, while sophomore midfielder J.P. Rafferty and freshman midfielder Emmett Lunceford collected assists in the match.

The Wolfpack were led by Nazmi Albadawi, who registered three shots in the effort. Midfielder Ollie Kelly had NC State’s only shot on goal, while goalkeeper Fabian Otte collected five saves.

The South Carolina defensive line of sophomore defender Trevor Hubbard, junior Kevin Stam, junior Eric Martinez and senior Danny Cates held strong defensively throughout the night and along with Alex Long, earned the team’s second shutout of the season.

The Gamecocks struck first in the 37th minute when Davidson scored his first goal of the night. Rafferty played a ball over top of the NC State defense to Lunceford who made a short cross to Davidson, who connected for his first-career goal and the 1-0 early advantage.

South Carolina quickly doubled its lead just two minutes later on another Davidson goal. The tally came off a long throw in, which was deflected inside the six-yard box before Davidson hit a one-time volley into the back of the net for the deciding 2-0 upperhand.

Rain continued through the second half and neither team found the back of the net, as the non-conference match ended with a 2-0 South Carolina victory.

The Gamecocks will resume Conference USA play on Saturday when they travel to Miami, Fla., to face FIU at 7 p.m.