Sept. 5, 2015

South Carolina Hosts UNC Greensboro
Eugene E. Stone III Stadium – Columbia, S.C.
Tues., Sept. 8, 7 PM
SEC Network + | | @GamecockMSoccer

Promotions
Student Kickoff Cookout in Athletics Village prior to game
Camper Reunion/Youth Soccer Club Night
$1 for youth wearing their youth jersey or a Mark Berson Soccer Camp T-shirt

Info on SEC Network + games

15 SC Men’s Soccer Notes 9/5

Gameday Changes for South Carolina Home Soccer Matches
Coach Berson Mic’d Up
Conference USA Soccer: An Elite History

Recap of Georgia Southern Victory

• South Carolina downed Georgia Southern 4-2 in its second match of the season on Monday.
• The highlight came on senior Jeffrey Torda’s scissors kick goal in the 62nd minute.
• That goal, which proved to be his second game-winner of the year, made the No. 2 spot on ESPN SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the day.
• Three other Gamecocks scored in the match, including the first goals as Gamecocks for senior Kevin Walker and junior Danny Deakin as well as the first of the season for junior Koty Millard.
• Three Gamecocks made assists, including senior Ryan Arambula on Torda’s game-winner with his free kick.

Notes from Mercer Win

• South Carolina posted a 2-1 win over 2014 Southern Conference regular-season champion Mercer in the season opener at Stone Stadium.
• Senior Jeffrey Torda tallied his third career game-winning goal with a 55th-minute strike, assisted by junior Danny Deakin.
• The Gamecocks owned the lead since the 18th minute when freshman Ben Davidson curved his free kick around the wall and into the upper 90 of the goal.
• Seven of South Carolina’s starters played all 90 minutes.

Roster Notes

• South Carolina brings back 13 letter-winners and 16 members from the squad that made the 2014 Conference USA Tournament Championship Match.
• Ten newcomers join the group: three transfers and seven freshmen.
• The Gamecocks return 47 percent of their goals and 57 percent of their assists from last year.
• TThird-team All-Conference USA midfielder Kurtis Turner is the top returning scorer.
• Turner has led the Gamecocks in assists in each of his first two years.
• Junior goalkeeper Marco Velez is also back after playing 87 percent of the minutes in goal and recording three solo shutouts last season.

The Gamecocks Shine in the Classroom as Well

• South Carolina’s 16 returners have a total of 26 SEC Academic Honor Roll certificates and 25 Conference USA Academic Honor Roll notations between them.
• Last season, 20 of the roster members picked up spots on each honor roll.
• Ryan Arambula (three) and Jeffrey Torda (two) both own multiple C-USA Academic Medals, which go to honorees holding a 3.75 cumulative GPA or higher.
• Both seniors also have CoSIDA Academic All-District nods to their credit, Arambula in 2013 and Torda in 2014.
• Nine times, SC has garnered the NSCAA Team Academic Award, including one in each of the past six years.
• Twice in the past five years, the Gamecocks have captured the top GPA in NCAA Division I according to the NSCAA.

We Schedule Top Competition

• Of the 17 regular-season matches scheduled for the Gamecocks, 12 come against top-100 RPI teams in the final 2014 report from the NCAA.
• Ten of those ranked in the top 50, five from C-USA (Charlotte, Kentucky UAB, Old Dominion & New Mexico).
• Four foes made the NSCAA/Continental Tire Preseason Top 25, with five more among those receiving votes.
• Eight of the Gamecocks’ foes made last year’s NCAA Tournament.

Gamecocks Have a Rich History in NCAA Tournament

• On 20 occasions, the Gamecocks made an NCAA Tournament, the most in Conference USA.
• Eleven times, the Gamecocks have played the NCAA Tournament Round of 16.
• South Carolina is 16-19-1 in the tourney, making two College Cups in 1988 and 1993.

Homegrown Gamecocks Highlight 2015 Roster

• Eight Gamecock players hail from inside the Palmetto State, highlighting Mark Berson’s commitment to recruiting and developing local talent.
• Three of those started in the first three matches: seniors Ryan Arambula and Wesley Eads as well as junior Koty Millard.
• For the past decade, South Carolina’s roster has increased its number of natives on the team, with six or more on each squad since 2006, a mark only hit twice in the previous 15 years.

Berson Ranks Sixth on NCAA Division I Coaching Wins List

• The only head coach in South Carolina men’s soccer history, Mark Berson ranks as one of four coaches in NCAA Division I history with 450 wins at one institution.
• The active Division I wins leader, Berson owns 474 career victories in 38 years, which includes his 11 in 1977 at The Citadel.
• He holds 6th on the NCAA Division I wins list and 16th on the all-divisions listing.
• Four wins tie Berson with Tom Martin, who retired after last season at James Madison with 478 career coaching wins in a career that spanned multiple divisions, for fifth on the Division I list.
• Berson coached his 750th collegiate match vs. Kentucky on Oct. 25.
• He’s coached 11 players who have captured 13 All-America nods at South Carolina.
• He’s also guided at least one player on each of the past four US Men’s National Teams in the World Cup (Clint Mathis 2002, Josh Woolf 2002 and 2006, Brad Guzan 2010 and 2014).

Attendance Outstanding at Stone Stadium

• In the 2015 season opener, 4,325 fans packed the stands for the eighth-largest crowd to watch a men’s match at Stone Stadium in history.
• The first two exhibitions of 2015 also saw over 4,000 students scan in for each, filling the stands.
• The 2014 Gamecocks had the fifth-highest paid attendance average in NCAA Division I at 2,602.
• That 2,602 attendance average is the largest for a season in Stone Stadium history.

South Carolina Played for Third Conference USA Tournament Crown

• South Carolina made its eighth appearance in the Conference USA Tournament, advancing to the finals before falling 2-1 to host Old Dominion.
• The seventh seed, the Gamecocks opened the event by beating second-seeded and 18th-ranked Kentucky 2-1.
• On Fri., South Carolina downed No. 21 UAB, 1-0, in the semifinals.
• Entering the event, SC had only once faced a rematch against a team it lost to in the regular season.
• In 2010, South Carolina fell to SMU in the regular season 3-1 but came back to win the semifinal rematch 2-1 en route to its second tourney title.
• The Gamecocks added to that total with both wins in the 2014 event.
• It’s the second time the Gamecocks have downed back-to-back ranked foes in the event, matching the 2010 team (2-1 W in semis over No. 5 SMU on 11/12, 1-0 W in finals over No. 25 Tulsa on 11/14).
• SC missed becoming the first No. 7 seed to win the tourney, joining two others who made the finals (FIU 2007, Memphis 1998).
• The Gamecocks are now 9-6-1 all-time in the C-USA Tourney, winning it twice (2005 and 2010).

Gamecocks were Comeback Kings in 2014

• In six of South Carolina’s 10 wins, the team came from behind to take the victory.
• Five victories came from one goal back, with the fifth marking the largest comeback in school history (down 0-3 at Florida Atlantic).
• Twice, the team has fought back against a ranked foe despite being down a player to force double overtime (down 0-1 vs. No. 25/18 Clemson, down 0-3 vs. No. 19/22 Kentucky).
• The three wins that didn’t involve overtime or falling behind were a 2-0 decision over Mercer, the 1-0 triumph at Old Dominion and the 1-0 victory over No. 21 UAB in the C-USA semis.

11th Year for South Carolina in Conference USA

• The 2015 season is South Carolina’s 11th as a men’s soccer affiliate member of Conference USA.
• In 2011, the Garnet and Black captured the league’s regular-season crown, sharing it with UAB.
• Twice more, the Gamecocks won the league’s tournament, in 2005 and 2010.
• South Carolina’s student-athletes have taken 48 all-league nods, with 14 coming on the first team.
• In C-USA outings, South Carolina owns a 38-28-16 (.561) mark.
• On the road, that mark is 19-13-10 (.571). At Stone Stadium, that record is 19-15-6 (.550).
• The 2014 Gamecocks fell one game shy of their fifth undefeated road slate in their C-USA history.

Recent Dominance of Archrival Clemson

• Since 2007, the Gamecocks are 6-3 against their archrival Clemson, with all three losses coming ion the road (2011, 2013, 2015).
• The last four matches at Stone Stadium have gone to the Gamecocks, three coming in shutouts.
• It’s the best stretch since the Gamecocks went 10-4 from 1985-95 against the Tigers, with three of the wins in that stretch coming in NCAA Tournament play.

Scouting UNC Greensboro

• The Spartans are 2-1 on the young season, getting a win at Virginia Tech and one at home over Longwood while losing at home to UNC Wilmington.
• A total of 15 letterwinners return for the Spartans, who were picked to finish third in the Southern Conference by the league’s coaches.
• Christopher Reingen ranks as the top scorer back for UNCG, tallying four goals last year.
• Returner Jacques Francois had three goals and two assists, standing second on the 2014 team in points.
• The Spartans also regain Rouven Wahlfeldt, a 2013 Southern Conference All-Freshman Team selection, after he missed last season with a knee injury.
• Five different Spartans have goals in 2015, with Francois adding two assists to his goal to top the team in points.
• Logan Rohde has posted a 0.95 goals against average so far, shutting out Virginia Tech in a double-overtime win.

Series History vs. the Spartans

• South Carolina has won the previous two meetings in the series, both by 2-1 scores.