Men's Soccer . September 13, 2016

Mayr, Walker Goals Push Gamecocks To 2-1 Overtime Win

Game #1

Sept. 13, 2016

Final Stats

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COLUMBIA, S.C. – Led by a game winner in the 98th minute from senior Kevin Walker, the South Carolina men’s soccer team (2-3-0) downed Georgia Southern (2-3-1) 2-1 in overtime at Stone Stadium Tuesday night. The Gamecocks, who trailed for most of the game after giving up an early goal, tied the match late in regulation to send it to the extra period tied at 1-1.

The Gamecocks began the game with several aggressive offensive attacks. Two effective offensive passing series led to several early shots in the opening minutes of play.

After a short span of even play, Georgia Southern junior forward Blake Wilson capitalized on a volley from close range to give GSU a 1-0 lead in the seventh minute of action.

The teams continued their offensive pressure with a shot off a long free kick from freshman Luca Mayr, which was saved by Georgia Southern keeper Torgeir Fjaer. The free kick was followed by two quick shots on goal from Walker and Mayr.

The Gamecocks kept on the attack and were relentless offensively all half, logging a season-high 13 shots and six shots on goal in the opening period.

Carolina returned to the pitch with another series of goal-scoring opportunities early in the second half that fell short. The Gamecocks kept the pressure up for much of the second half before finally breaking through in crunch time.

In the 85th minute, Mayr fired a bending bullet from 25-yards out that found the top left corner of the net, tying the score at 1-1. The Steyr, Austria, native finished the match with six shots and a team-high five shots on goal.

The offensive pressure was again on by Carolina for the final five minutes. The Gamecocks fired four shots from the 86:13 mark to the 88:15 mark, nearly finding the back of the net with every attempt.

Walker, who leads the Gamecocks in goals this season (3), put an end to the game in the 98th minute when fellow senior Koty Millard fed him a perfect pass that he was able to pound home for the win from three-yards out.

QUOTABLE

Head Coach Mark Berson on team’s consistent offensive attack: “I thought we kept a tremendous pressure on Georgia Southern, but we just couldn’t quite get the goal. That starts to test your mentality. It starts to test your perseverance. It test your metal. From that standpoint, I was very, very proud of our guys tonight.They stuck to the task. They did a great job. They found a way to get the goal, and then they found a way to get the winner.That’s a great quality that we’re going to need to have as we go into conference play.”

GAMECHANGER

Freshman Luca Mayr tallied his second goal of the season, connecting on a strike from well outside the 18-yard box to tie the contest late in regulation.

KEY STAT

South Carolina out-shot Georgia Southern 27-10, including a margin of 11-4 in shots on goal. Despite trailing for the majority of the contest, the Carolina offense was strong with relentless pressure throughout the match.

NOTABLE

Freshman striker Luca Mayr tallied his second goal of the season in the 85th minute.
Senior forward Kevin Walker tallied his second game-winner of the season, which was his third goal of the season, a team-high.
Senior forward Kevin Walker tallied his second game-winner of the season, which was his third goal of the season, a team-high. Walker leads the Gamecocks with six points thus far in 2016.
Junior goalkeeper William Pyle collected three saves in the match. He has collected 14 saves in the last three contests.
Senior Koty Millard recorded his first assist of the season tonight.
Senior Danny Deakin and Mayr are tied for second on the team in points with four. Deakin (19) and Mayr (18) rank both 1-2 respectively in shots.
Mayr leads the team in shots on goal (11), while Deakin ranks second (6).