South Carolina Tallies 3-2 Road Win At Old Dominion
Oct. 22, 2016
NORFOLK, Va. — South Carolina (9-4-1 overall, 4-0-1 C-USA) downed Old Dominion (3-6-2 overall, 0-3-1 C-USA) on the road Saturday evening at the ODU Soccer Complex. The Gamecocks remain the only unbeaten team in Conference USA with a one-point edge in the standings over No. 9 Charlotte.
Carolina got on the board early in the match when Bjorn Gudjonsson found the back of the net in the 15th minute. The score was his fourth of the season. Danny Deakin fed him for his team-leading fifth assist of the year.
Carolina led 1-0 at the half and wasted no time in period two extending their lead. Senior Koty Millard tallied his first goal of the season in the 47th minute. Luca Mayr notched his second assist of the year on the play.
Old Dominion narrowed the gap in the 52nd minute when Johan DePicker scored unassisted.
The Gamecocks answered the score three minutes later when Danny Deakin scored his team-leading seventh goal of the season.
ODU had a late push with a score by Niko Klosterhalfen in the 87th minute but Carolina was able to hold on for the victory.
William Pyle had another solid night in the net, tallying six saves. He improved his season record to 9-2-1 overall with the victory.
QUOTABLE
Head Coach Mark Berson on the conference road victory: “I’m pleased for our players, coaches and staff tonight that we got the win. Anytime we can win on the road in Conference USA it’s a good achievement. Give credit to Old Dominion. They fought back twice, and we knew that they would. For our part, I think we can improve a lot on some of the basic things we want to do well as a team. We’ll begin to work on those things this week as we head into the last part of the season.”
GAMECHANGER
Deakin’s 55th minute answer to ODU’s goal in the 52nd minute pushed Carolina’s lead to 3-1, providing a crucial momentum swing in the match.
KEY STAT
Pyle had six saves in the match on eight shots on goal by ODU.
NOTABLE
- Senior midfielder Danny Deakin increased his team lead in points to 19 (7G, 5A) with a goal and assist Saturday night.
- Junior goalkeeper William Pyle is now 9-2-1 on the year with 45 saves and four shutouts.
- Deakin leads the team in shots at 41 with freshman striker Luca Mayr close behind at 39.
- Mayr leads the team with 18 shots on goal and Deakin ranks second with 17.
- Carolina has four players with double-digit shots on goal: Mayr (18), Deakin (17), Kevin Walker (12) and Kurtis Turner (11).
UP NEXT
South Carolina hosts Charlotte in a huge conference battle on Wednesday night at Stone Stadium. The Gamecocks and 49ers currently sit 1-2 in the C-USA standings after wins tonight.
