Sept. 26, 2013
COLUMBIA, S.C. –
South Carolina opens Conference USA play at Charlotte on Friday evening. The Gamecocks have started the season 2-4-2, while the 49ers have amassed a 4-2-1 record, including a 0-0 draw in their first CUSA match of the season at No. 8 UAB. Game time is set for 7 p.m. at Transamerica Field
GAME INFORMATION
Date/Opponent: Friday, Sept. 27, 2013 vs. RV Charlotte
Kickoff: 7 p.m. ET
Location: Charlotte, N.C.
Stadium: Transamerica Field
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Carolina Quick Hits
South Carolina is in its 36th season of varsity soccer in 2013.
South Carolina head coach Mark Berson is in his 37th season overall and his 36th season as head coach of the Gamecocks. He is assisted by former players Spencer Lewis and Joey Worthen, both in their second season. Tim O’Toole is the volunteer assistant coach.
The Gamecocks will play 11 regular-season contests at Stone Stadium this season, including the annual Gamecock Classic and four Conference USA matches.
South Carolina and Charlotte have played 22 times, with the Gamecocks leading the series 14-5-3. South Carolina has won four of the last five contests, with the lone defeat coming in a 2-3 double overtime loss at Charlotte last season.
In the 27th edition of the Gamecock Classic last weekend, South Carolina played 220 minutes of soccer and finished the weekend 0-0-2. Sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Torda scored his second goal of the season in the fifth minute against USF, but the Bulls tied the match and played out to a 1-1 tie on Friday, Sept. 20. Less than 48 hours later, the Gamecocks faced Dartmouth and again went the distance, this time playing to a 0-0 draw. South Carolina outshot their opponents 36-20 over the course of the weekend.
To end their three-game road stretch, the Gamecocks dropped a Sunday afternoon contest 0-3 at Rutgers on Sept. 15.
South Carolina faced No. 12 St. John’s on Friday, Sept. 13, without Conference-USA preseason honoree Braeden Troyer (suspension for red card vs. Coastal Carolina) and starting keeper Robert Beebe (injury). The teams played 60 scoreless minutes before the Red Storm recorded a tally for the 1-0 win. The Gamecocks who faced a 7-2 shot deficit at the half, ultimately outshot St. John’s 12-11. Freshman Marco Velez earned his first career start in Beebe’s place between the posts.
Freshman Ive Burnett scored his first career goal for the Garnet and Black in the fourth minute against Coastal Carolina on Tues., Sept 10. The Gamecocks couldn’t hold on to the early 1-0 lead and dropped the road match 1-3.
Senior J.P. Rafferty recorded the first multi-goal game of his career on Friday, Sept. 6, in a 5-2 win over High Point. Rafferty’s two second-half goals came within 15 minutes of each other.
Freshman Kurtis Turner scored the first points of his Gamecock career against High Point, assisting on three goals in the non-conference win.
The five South Carolina goals against High Point are the most scored by the Gamecocks since a 5-2 road win at East Carolina on Oct. 5, 2005.
South Carolina came from behind, but ultimately fell to Clemson 2-1 in double overtime on Sept. 2. Junior defender Mahamoudou Kaba scored the first goal of his career on a header off a Ryan Arambula corner kick to level the match in the second half. Clemson tallied the golden goal in the 102nd minute for the win.
The Gamecocks improved to 30-5-1 in season openers with a 1-0 shutout victory over East Tennessee State on Aug. 30. Sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Torda netted the unassisted gamewinner in the 26th minute.
South Carolina posted two shutouts in exhibition play this season, a 1-0 win over Mercer and a 2-0 win over Elon.
Three different Gamecocks scored during preseason play, junior forward Asa Kryst, sophomore midfielder Jeffrey Torda and senior midfielder J.P. Rafferty.
The Garnet and Black posted 31 shots in the pair of matches, with a decided 23-6 advantage over Mercer. The Gamecocks preferred quality over quantity against Elon, putting seven of their eight shots on frame.
Nine newcomers (seven freshmen and two transfers) join 15 letterwinners and four starters from the 2012 squad.
Junior Braden Troyer was selected to the Preseason All-Conference USA squad in August. Last season, the Columbia, S.C., native earned second-team all-conference honors, was named to the Capital One Academic All-District 4 Team and earned a spot on the C-USA All-Academic Team.
Last season, the Gamecocks finished 5-11-2 (2-5-1 C-USA), a year removed from earning a share of the 2011 Conference USA Regular Season championship after a 6-1-1 conference campaign.
Scouting Charlotte
Charlotte returns to Conference USA after seven seasons in the Atlantic 10. The 49ers have started the season 4-2-1, recording shutout wins over Campbell (3-0) and UCF (2-0) in their last two matches. Thus far this season, Charlotte is 2-1 at home and are in the middle of a four-game home stand. The 49ers have played one conference match this season, a 0-0 draw with No. 8 UAB.
Junior forward Giuseppe Gentile leads the 49ers with four goals and one assist on the season. Sophomore forward Kyle Parker and redshirt freshman defender Luke Waechter have five points apiece, each recording two goals and one assist. Parker’s two tallies have come in the last two matches. Between the posts, redshirt senior Klay Davis has anchored a defense that has allowed just four goals in seven matches. Davis has recorded three shutouts, 12 saves and boasts a 0.57 goals against average. Kyle Langan is in his second season as head coach after a 15-4-3 record in his first campaign. He has added nine newcomers to 15 returning letterwinners.
Up Next for the Gamecocks
South Carolina returns home for two-straight matches. First, the Gamecocks step out of conference play to face Presbyterian on Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 7 p.m. South Carolina resumes Conference USA matches on Sunday, Oct. 6., when they take on No. 15 Tulsa at 1 p.m., at the Graveyard.
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