Oct. 31, 2015

Printable Box Score | Box Score

COLUMBIA, S.C. – South Carolina (9-6-1, 6-2 C-USA) kept its unbeaten home record alive on a beautiful Halloween night at “The Graveyard,” downing No. 13 Old Dominion (8-3-3, 3-2-2 C-USA) 3-1.

The Gamecocks took the lead 89 seconds in when redshirt senior Asa Kryst sent a shot from the right side of the 18 toward the goal. It deflected off one player and past the Monarchs’ keeper for the initial score. Old Dominion answered in the fourth minute when Tyler Edwards headed the free kick from Ivan Militar into the net, leveling things at 1-1.

Senior Jeffrey Torda put South Carolina ahead for good in the 67th minute with his fifth goal of the year. Senior Ryan Arambula drove a free kick from near the midfield stripe, and freshman Bjorn Gudjonsson headed it down, where Torda found it and rifled it into the top of the net toward the left upper 90. Junior Danny Deakin iced it with his penalty kick in the 88th. Torda made a run and was taken down inside the box, giving Deakin the chance from the spot.

South Carolina controlled the run of play, taking 18 shots to Old Dominion’s 12. The Gamecocks also held a 3-2 advantage in corner kicks.

The victory assures the Gamecocks of one of the top three seeds in the Conference USA Tournament, which starts on Nov. 11 at Charlotte.

v Game Changer:
South Carolina’s strong attack kept the Monarchs from getting into their offensive third and put pressure on ODU’s defense.

Key Stat:
It’s the fourth match this season that the Gamecocks have tallied three goals, all four coming at Stone Stadium.

Notables:
• With tonight’s game-winner, Torda ties 12 others for 14th in a single season with four game-winning goals.
• The Monarchs are the third ranked foe to fall at Stone Stadium this season, following wins over then-No. 8 Elon and No. 7 New Mexico.
• Gudjonsson’s assist stands as his first as a Gamecock.
• Arambula and junior Koty Millard also collected assists on the night.
• Deakin is the Gamecocks’ first 10-goal scorer since Sam Arthur netted 12 in 2008.
• Deakin led the Gamecocks with four shots in the match, while Torda and Kryst both had three.
• Old Dominion’s Josue Henriquez and Militar both had three shots in the contest, with Henriquez putting all three of his on goal.

Tweet of the Game:

67′ – GOAL!!!!! Torda scores his 5th goal of the season, and lifts the #Gamecocks to a 2-1 lead!

— Gamecock M. Soccer (@GamecockMSoccer) November 1, 2015

Quotable:
Head coach Mark Berson
It’s a big win. Old Dominion is a very good team. This is the time of year that you want to be playing your best, and we played our most complete game. We’ve been waiting to put together 90 minutes all year, and tonight we did in really, really fine fashion. I’m really proud of the guys. I thought they played very well. To win tonight and play as well as we did in a very well-balanced approach is very gratifying.

Up Next:
South Carolina closes regular season play on Sat., Nov. 7, hosting Coastal Carolina for a 7 p.m. contest.