No. 24 Men's Soccer Hosts No. 3 Clemson In Season Opener Friday
Aug. 25, 2016
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — The 24th-ranked South Carolina men’s soccer team opens the 2016 campaign on Friday when it hosts No. 3 Clemson in the season opener at Stone Stadium. Come support head coach Mark Berson and the Gamecocks and help Carolina break the all-time attendance record at Stone Stadium!
GAMECOCK QUICK HITS
– Mark Berson is the winningest active NCAA Division I coach, 5th on all-time NCAA D1 list
– Berson is tied for the most NCAA Tournament appearances among active DI coaches with 21
– South Carolina has two C-USA Tournament titles and two regular-season crowns in 11 years
– The 2015 Gamecocks advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
– The Gamecocks return 17 letterwinners from last season’s squad
– South Carolina returns eight starters from last season’s squad
– The Gamecocks were undefeated at Stone Stadium last season with an 8-0-2 record
– Senior midfielder Danny Deakin leads the Carolina offense after scoring 11 goals last season
– Deakin and fellow senior Koty Millard were both named to the 2016 Preseason All-C-USA Team
– Deakin was named to the CollegeSoccerNews 2016 Preseason All-America Second Team
– The Gamecocks are ranked 24th in the NSCAA Top 25 Poll, No. 24 in the TopDrawerSoccer.com Preseason Poll and No. 21 in the CollegeSoccerNews Preseason National Poll
– The Gamecocks are set to face six teams that are also ranked in the NSCAA preseason list, including No. 3 Clemson, No. 5 Wake Forest, No. 21 Coastal Carolina, No. 22 Charlotte, No. 23 FIU and No. 25 Rutgers.
– The Gamecocks were 1-1-1 in exhibition games to start the 2016 season, posting a home win vs. Winthrop
– South Carolina posted a 1-1 draw vs. No. 8 North Carolina and suffered a 2-0 loss at College of Charleston in the two other exhibitions this fall
– South Carolina has won six of the last 10 meetings versus Clemson
– Carolina has won four-straight home games vs. Clemson entering Friday’s matchup
South Carolina In Season Openers
The Gamecocks are 32-5-1 all-time in season openers, and enter Friday’s matchup vs. the Tigers having won their last four season lidlifters, including a 2-1 victory over Mercer to begin the 2015 season.
Conference USA Preseason Poll
In the 2016 Conference USA Preseason Poll, South Carolina, was slotted in a tie for fourth with New Mexico in the coaches’ preseason predictions. Kentucky was selected as the league favorite, while Charlotte and FIU ranked second and third, respectively.
Scouting Clemson
The Tigers are led by head coach Mike Noonan in his seventh season and the squad returns seven starters and 16 letterwinners to the field this season. Clemson advanced to the National Championship game last season, falling to Stanford in the final. The Tigers are ranked No. 3 in the NSCAA Preseason Poll, and are in the top 10 in the Soccer America (No. 6) and TopDrawerSoccer.com polls (No. 10) as well.
Certified SC Grown Palmetto Series
Friday’s meeting between the Gamecocks and Tigers begins year two of the Certified SC Grown Palmetto Series. In the inaugural Palmetto Series, the Gamecocks took the title, 10-5, over Clemson.
Up Next
South Carolina hosts Mercer on Tuesday, Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. ET at Stone Stadium. The game is the Ovarian Cancer Awareness game.
