Oct. 13, 2012
HURRICANE, W.VA. – The South Carolina men’s soccer team (4-7-1, 1-4-1 C-USA) suffered a 2-1 loss on the road at Marshall (10-1-1, 2-1-0 C-USA) on Saturday night in Conference USA action. Sophomore midfielder Braeden Troyer scored for the Gamecocks, his second straight contest with a goal.
South Carolina held a dominating 22-7 upperhand in shots in the contest, which included a 6-3 advantage in shots on goal. Carolina also drew 11 corner kick opportunities compared to just four for the Thundering Herd.
Senior defender Kevin Stam, freshman midfielder Jeffrey Torda and sophomore forward Snoopy Davidson led the Gamecock attack with four shots each. Troyer earned the score, and freshman midfielder Ryan Arambula was credited with the assist, his second of the season. Netminder Alex Long posted one save in the match.
Jahvon Allison and Andrew Ferguson both posted two shots for the Herd. Zach Hunter tallied the first Marshall score of the match and Nick Edginton posted the game winner. Goalkeeper Daniel Winthrow collected five saves.
Torda and Davidson would post early shots for the Gamecocks, but Hunter gave Marshall a 1-0 lead with a goal off a free kick 10:41 minutes into the contest. After a South Carolina foul, Hunter connected with a shot to the far post off the set piece, earning the unassisted score.
Marshall pushed its lead to two goals in the 22nd minute. Ferguson crossed a corner kick into the Carolina 18-yard box, which Edginton volleyed on a one-touch for the goal.
South Carolina continued to press on the offensive end. Winthrow made a save on an attempt from Davidson in the 22nd minute and Stam saw an attempt go high of frame moments later. Winthrow was forced to make two more saves before the half, a header from Stam and a shot from Hunter Wyer in the 42nd minute, but Marshall held a 2-0 lead at the half.
Long made a save on an attempt from Allison just moments into the second half. Baladez hit a shot wide right near the 50-minute mark and a shot from Troyer was blocked in the 52nd minute.
Back and forth play followed, but the Gamecocks picked up momentum near the 65th minute, posting three shots in a two-minute span. Troyer would score in the 76th minute to near the score at 2-1, connecting on a corner kick from Arambula that he volleyed past Winthrow for the goal.
South Carolina would post seven shots after the goal, but was unable to tie the contest. Davidson and Torda would have shots blocked, and Winthrow collected a save on an attempt from Wesley Eads with moments remaining, as Marshall was able to close the 2-1 victory.
South Carolina takes a break from Conference USA play when it hosts intrastate rival Wofford on Wednesday at Stone Stadium. Game time for the match is set for 7 p.m., with live stats and free live video available via GamecocksOnline.com.
