Gamecocks Welcome No. 15 Furman to Stone Stadium Tuesday
Sept. 18, 2017
Men’s Soccer vs. No. 15 Furman
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (3-3-0, 0-2-0 C-USA) welcomes No. 15 Furman (6-0-0, 0-0-0 SoCon) on Tuesday night to Stone Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. The Gamecocks have won three straight matches in the series dating back to 2009.
Fans are encouraged to wear teal all month long during September home matches to help raise awareness for ovarian cancer. It’s Gamecock Club Appreciation Night as all Gamecock Club members will receive free admission to the match. It’s also $1 hot dog night at The Graveyard.
The Paladins are led by Gamecock soccer legend Doug Allison. He was a four-year starter at South Carolina and earned First Team All-America honors in 1987. He’s the programs all-time points leader with 158 (63G, 32A). Allison also served as an assistant under head coach Mark Berson from 1991-94 helping lead the Gamecocks to three NCAA Tournaments and a national runner-up finish in 1993.
Another Carolina soccer great is on Allison’s staff at Furman in assistant coach Charlie Arndt. He went 47-11-7 as a goalkeeper for the Gamecocks helping lead them to three consecutive NCAA Tournaments from 1986-88. He was a consensus All-American in 1988 and was named the NSCAA Goalkeeper of the Year that season.
FROM THE COACH
“Furman brings an excellent team into Stone Stadium on Tuesday night. They are on a roll with a lot of confidence. This will be a great match.” — head coach Mark Berson
SCOUTING FURMAN
The Paladins come into Tuesday evening’s match undfeated at 6-0-0. They’ve been impressive through six games, allowing just three goals and posting four shutouts. Goalkeeper Ben Hale has started all six matches and been outstanding, tallying 16 saves (.842 save percentage) with a 0.49 goals against average. Furman’s offensive attack has been extremely balanced with seven different players scoring goals and nine different players scoring points. Connor Hubbard (3G, 1A) leads the team in points with seven. Hubbard and Cole McLagan are tied for the team lead with three goals each. The Paladins biggest victory of the season came on the road at Denver on Sept. 1 when they won 1-0 in double overtime. At the time, the Pioneers were slotted No. 4 in the United Soccer Coaches Poll. Furman also knocked off current No. 4 Wake Forest in an exhibition contest prior to the start of the season.
UP NEXT
Carolina remains at home and will face New Mexico (4-3-0, 0-1-0 C-USA) on Friday night at 7 p.m. in the team’s annual Ovarian Cancer Awareness Match. All fans who wear teal will receive $1 admission.
