No. 25 South Carolina Travels West To Face New Mexico
Oct. 29, 2016
COLUMBIA, S.C. — No. 25 South Carolina (9-5-1 overall, 4-1-1 C-USA) travels west this weekend to face New Mexico (8-6-1 overall, 2-3-1 C-USA) on Sunday night in the team’s regular season road finale. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. ET in Albuquerque.
“The New Mexico match is a big one,” said Head Coach Mark Berson. “New Mexico year in and year out is one of the best team’s in the nation. This year they’ve had some really tough results. They’re right there. We always have great games with them. They really play a great style of soccer. It’s wide open. They have wonderful attacking players. It’s a really tough atmosphere there to play in. It’ll be a great game.”
The Gamecocks have already locked up a spot in the C-USA Tournament. Carolina is still in position for a top-seed as they are currently second in the conference standings with 13 points, trailing No. 8 Charlotte who leads the C-USA with 15 points.
Carolina and New Mexico last met in the first round of the conference tournament last season. The Gamecocks downed the Lobos 1-0 to advance to the semifinals.
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 Gamecocks return 17 letter winners and eight starters from last season’s squad that advanced to the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament
– South Carolina, which 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 re-entered the NSCAA Coaches Top-25 Poll on Oct. 25 slotted at No. 25; the Gamecocks are back in the poll for the first time since week one of the season
– As of Oct. 25, Carliona is ranked No. 19 by Top Drawer Soccer, No. 20 by Soccer America and No. 27 by College Soccer News
– South Carolina had an eight-match unbeaten streak snapped in a 1-0 loss to No. 2 Wake Forest on Oct. 18
– The streak dated back to a 2-1 overtime win vs. Georgia Southern on Sept. 13.
– During the streak, Carolina outscored opponents 15-4 and pitched four shutouts
– Junior goalkeeper William Pyle was named the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week on Oct. 17 after posting back-to-back shutouts; Pyle had eight saves including five vs. UAB and a PK save in the 108th minute at FIU
– Pyle is 9-3-1 on the season with 46 saves and four shutouts; his .807 save percentage ranks third in C-USA and his 0.83 goals against average ranks fourth in the conference
– 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.
– 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 (7G, 5A) leads the team in points with 19; Gudjonsson ranks second with 11 (5G, 1A)
– Freshman Luca Mayr leads the team in shots (43) and shots on goal (18)
– South Carolina’s balanced offensive attack features four players with double-digit SOG: Mayr (18), Deakin (17), Walker (12) and Turner (11)
– 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 five game-winning goals, which ranks fifth in the nation currently
RECORD CROWD WATCHES SOUTH CAROLINA SEASON OPENER VS. CLEMSON
A new Stone Stadium attendance record was set 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 New Mexico
The Lobos are fresh off a 1-0 conference win at UAB on Wednesday, October 26. They’ve been a tough out at home this season as they sport an undefeated record of 6-0-1. All six of the team’s losses have been by one-point. New Mexico took No. 5 Denver down to the wire, falling 2-1 in the second overtime period. Niko Hansen leads the Lobos offensively. He’s tied with Deakin for the conference lead in points with 19. He leads C-USA with nine goals on the season. Hansen is the team leader in shots (37) and shots on goal (24). Chris Wehan ranks second on the team in points with 10. He also ranks second on the team in goals (4), shots (35) and shots on goal (18). The Lobos lineup features six players who have scored at least two goals. Sam Gleadle is the team leader in assists with three. Jason Beaulieu has played in the net for all of New Mexico’s matches and sports an 8-6-1 record. He’s allowed 12 goals (0.77 GAA) and made 48 saves (.800). He’s recorded five shutouts. The Lobos have outshot opponents 220-141 this season. They also hold a 105-64 advantage in corner kicks over their opponents in 2016.
