Gamecocks blank Wofford, 5-0, at Stone Stadium
Carolina scored four goals in four minutes in the second half
COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (2-4-0, 0-1-0 C-USA) blanked Wofford (1-5-0, 0-0- SoCon), 5-0, Wednesday night in non-conference action at Stone Stadium. All five goals by the Gamecocks were scored by different players.
“It was a good effort all the way around,” said head coach Mark Berson. “I thought we played well defensively, and that’s extremely important. We were able to score the other night (at Furman) and ended up not holding the lead. It’s important for us to secure the game when we score and play well defensively. We made a big step forward in that way tonight.”
The Gamecocks took an early, 1-0, lead on a PK goal by senior Peyton Ericson in the 11th minute. The Duluth, Ga., native ripped it past the Terriers’ keeper, Shane Berson, for his first goal of the season. It’s the second career goal for the four-year starter and team captain, who played primarily on the backline his first three seasons at Carolina.
The run of play the first 45 minutes was dominated by the Gamecocks, who didn’t allow a shot by the opponent until the 42nd minute. Carolina led, 1-0, at halftime.
A scoring barrage was unleashed by the Gamecocks midway through the second half as they scored four goals in four minutes to bust the game wide open.
In the 65th, junior striker Luca Mayr found the back of the net for the first time this season. He scored with ease from close-range after a beautiful passing sequence by sophomore Aidan O’Brien and junior Tucker Monheimer. The Steyr, Austria, native, who has five points (1G, 3A) in 2018, now has 10 goals for his career.
In the 67th minute, freshman Josh Corning whipped a left-footed cross into the box from the wide side of the field. Monheimer gathered it and flicked it far post for his second goal of the season to put Carolina in front, 3-0.
In the 68th minute, sophomore Petter Soelberg scored his first goal of the year. He rebounded a deflection off the Wofford keeper near the spot on and sent it home for the unassisted score.
In the 69th minute, sophomore Justin Sukow concluded the offensive outburst after he intercepted a clearance attempt by Wofford’s goalie and booted it in from 15 yards away. The San Antonio, Texas, native leads the Gamecocks in points (6) and goals (3) this season.
Tonight’s five goals mark the most by Carolina since a 5-4 win at FIU on Oct. 8, 2014. It’s also the 75th time the Gamecocks have scored five goals or more in the program’s 41 seasons of competition. The 5-0 score tonight is the widest margin of victory in a shutout since a 5-0 win at home against Gardner-Webb on Oct. 15, 2001.
Senior Ian McGrane and sophomore Justin Bauer split time in goal, with McGrane playing the first half and Bauer playing the final 45 minutes. Tonight marked Bauer’s debut in Garnet and Black.
The Gamecocks now hit the road for a weekend matchup at No. 20 Old Dominion (4-1-1, 2-0-0 C-USA) in conference play. Kickoff is slated for 2 p.m. ET on Sunday (Sept. 23) and the match will be streamed live on CUSA.tv. The game against the Monarchs marks a stretch of three consecutive games against ranked opponents. Carolina host No. 7 Kentucky (5-0-1, 1-0-0 C-USA) on Sept. 29 and travels to No. 14 Virginia Tech (5-1-2, 0-1-1 ACC) on Oct. 2.
