No. 24 Men's Soccer Hosts Mercer On Tuesday
Aug. 29, 2016
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COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 24 South Carolina men’s soccer (0-1-0) will host Mercer (1-0-0) on Tuesday at Stone Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., vs. the Bears. The match begins a month-long promotion for Ovarian Cancer awareness. The Gamecocks will wear teal warmup shirts for the contest, and fans who wear teal will receive $1 admission (read below for more details).
GAMECOCK QUICK HITS
– Mark Berson is the winningest active NCAA Division I coach, 5th on the 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 Preseason 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
– The Gamecocks suffered a 2-1 loss vs. No. 3 Clemson in the 2016 season opener on Aug. 26
– Senior forward Kevin Walker scored Carolina’s goal vs. Clemson; it was his sixth as a Gamecock
RECORD CROWD WATCHES SOUTH CAROLINA SEASON OPENER VS. CLEMSON
A new Stone Stadium attendance record was set last Friday in the 2016 season opener vs. Clemson, as 6,892 fans attended the matchup. The mark broke the previous record of 6,157, also set vs. Clemson on Sept. 3, 2010.
OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
The Carolina men’s soccer team is supporting Ovarian Cancer Awareness month in September by wearing teal warmup jerseys for their matches, beginning with Tuesday’s matchup vs. Mercer. All fans who wear teal to the game will pay only a $1 admission price. In addition to the teal warm up jerseys and shoelaces for the South Carolina team, the Gamecock coaching staff and support staff will be wearing teal polo shirts, while the goalkeeper will be donning a teal jersey.
SCOUTING MERCER
Mercer opened its season with a 1-0 home win vs. Georgia State last Friday. Senior Conner Antley notched the game winner on a penalty kick in the 32nd minute of the contest. The Bears outshot Georgia State 17-5 in the contest, and took nine corner kicks compared to zero for Georgia State. The team is led by head coach Brad Ruzzo in his ninth season. Mercer returns 10 starters from last season’s squad that posted an 11-6-3 record on the year. The Bears were picked third in the Southern Conference Preseason Poll.
