Gamecocks Face FIU Monday Night
Oct. 9, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. – The South Carolina men’s soccer team (7-3 overall, 2-0 C-USA) heads south for a Conference USA match at FIU (3-6-1 overall, 1-2 C-USA) Monday night, looking to extend a six-match win streak that dates back to a 2-1 overtime win vs. Georgia Southern on Sept. 13. The game was originally scheduled for Saturday, October 8, but was moved back due to inclement weather from Hurricane Matthew.
“It’s a tough game in conference. It’s a road game in conference,” said Head Coach Mark Berson. “FIU is a tremendous team. They have great attacking talent. They’re very good defensively. They’re very well organized, well coached – just a very solid team. We’re getting ready for a really tough game on Monday night.”
Carolina leads the all-time series with FIU 13-0-4. Since joining the conference in 2005, the Gamecocks are 8-0-3 vs. the Panthers. Last season, South Carolina won 2-0 in Columbia.
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
– 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
– South Carolina, who has been a member of Conference USA since 2005, has two C-USA Tournament titles and two regular-season crowns in 11 years
-Seniors Danny Deakin and 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
– South Carolina, who is currently on a six-match win streak, has 11 goals in their last four games with eight different players finding the back of the net.
– Sophomore forward Bjorn Gudjonsson was named the C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 3 after he scored three goals in two games. He recorded his first career multi-goal game vs. High Point on Sept. 28 with two scores. Gudjonsson also scored once in a 2-1 in vs. Marshall. < br=””>- Carolina’s win over Furman on Sept. 20 was its first of the season over a ranked opponent, as the Paladins were slotted No. 18 by Soccer America
– Senior Kurtis Turner was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 26 after scoring the game-winning goal at Furman and recording his second assist of the season vs. Georgia State
– The Gamecocks posted a season-high 27 shots and 11 shots on goal in their win vs. Georgia Southern
– Deakin (5G, 4A) leads the team in points with 14; senior Kevin Walker ranks second with eight (4G)
– Goalkeeper William Pyle is 7-1 and has 26 saves in eight games with two shutouts, good for an 81.2 save percentage and a 0.74 GAA
– Deakin leads the team in shots with 35; Mayr leads the team in shots on goal with 16
– Mayr scored his first career goal as a Gamecock vs. Mercer on Aug. 30
– Mayr tallied an individual single-game season-high five SOG vs. Georgia Southern
– Deakin leads the team with three game-winning goals
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.
SCOUTING FIU
The Panthers have lost four-straight matches, three of which were against ranked opponents in No. 11 Wake Forest, No. 12 Florida Gulf Coast and No. 15 Kentucky. The other loss was to New Mexico, who received 36 votes in this week’s NSCAA poll. The team’s most recent loss came on Oct. 4 when they fell to FGCU 4-1 at home. FIU is led by Santiago Patino, who leads the team in points with 14 on seven goals. Five other players are tied for second on the team with one goal. Patino leads the team in shots with 26 and shots on goal with 15. Brad Fountain ranks second with 16 shots and eight shots on goal. Goalkeeper Arthur Clapot has started all 10 games logging 27 saves. He has allowed 19 goals on the year. The Panthers average 12.1 shots per game and have tallied 48 corner kicks. The team has scored 12 goals on 121 shot attempts so far in 2016.
