Carolina faces road test at No. 20 Old Dominion Sunday

COLUMBIA, S.C. — South Carolina (2-4-0, 0-1-0 C-USA) travels to No. 20 Old Dominion (4-2-1, 2-0-0 C-USA) this weekend for a conference road battle. Kickoff is 2 p.m. ET on Sunday at the ODU Soccer Complex, and the game will be streamed live on CUSA.tv.
 
“It’s a tough test – Old Dominion is at the top of the league,” said head coach Mark Berson. “They’re 2-0 (in C-USA play) and ranked No. 20 in the country, so clearly they’ve got a very good team this year. I expect it to be a close contest. It’s always difficult to play a conference game on the road. We know what to expect from ODU, and I think they know what to expect from us.”
 
Sunday’s match marks the start of a three-game stretch versus national ranked opponents for the Gamecocks.
 
Carolina has faced off with the Monarchs four times in the last two seasons. The teams have split matches, with the Gamecocks winning both regular season contests and ODU earning a pair of victories in the C-USA Tournament. The Monarchs lead the all-time series 6-5-0.
 
Carolina came from down 2-0 to win, 3-2, on Senior Day last year at Stone Stadium. ODU then defeated the Gamecocks, 2-0, a week later in the C-USA Quarterfinals in Norfolk. They went on to win the tournament championship as the host school.
 
SCOUTING NO. 20 OLD DOMINION
The 20th ranked Monarchs lost just their second match of the season earlier this week, falling 4-0 on the road at VCU. ODU was picked to finish third in the Preseason C-USA Poll. The Monarchs, who advanced to the round of 32 in the 2017 NCAA Tournament after winning the conference tournament as the host school, return eight letterwinners from last season’s squad. ODU is led by a pair of German seniors in forward Max Wilschrey and midfielder Niko Klosterhalfen. Wilschrey leads the team in virtually every offensive statistical category and ranks atop the league in points (16) and goals (8). He’s T-3rd in the country in goals per game (1.33) and ranks fourth nationally in points per game (2.67). Wilschrey’s four game-winners are T-2nd in the nation. Klosterhalfen leads the team with four assists, which ranks second in the league. 2017 First Team All-C-USA selection Mertcan Akar is back for the Monarchs between the posts. Akar, who led the nation in saves as a freshman at Belmont in 2016, has started all seven matches this season with two shutouts. He’s made 15 saves and allowed nine goals for a 1.25 goals against average. ODU is undefeated in conference play with a 2-1 win vs. Charlotte (Sept. 7) and a 2-1 victory at New Mexico (Sept. 15).
 
FOUR GOALS IN FOUR MINUTES
In South Carolina’s 5-0 shutout win against Wofford (Sept. 19), the Gamecocks scored four times in a 4 minute and 15 second stretch midway through the second half to break the game wide open. All five goals were scored by different players and two were unassisted.
 
It marked the most goals scored in a match 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 marked the widest margin of victory in a shutout since a 5-0 win at home against Gardner-Webb on Oct. 15, 2001.

NO. 3 IN HOME ATTENDANCE
Through games played on Sept. 19, the Gamecocks rank third in the country in attendance average at 3,726 fans per game. Two of Carolina’s first three games this season currently rank in the top-10 for single-game attendance.
 
The season-opening crowd vs. No. 13 Georgetown (Aug. 24) drew 4,844 fans, the fourth largest crowd in NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer in 2018.  The Gamecocks’ annual rivalry game against Clemson (Aug. 31) drew 4,441 fans, the eighth biggest crowd. South Carolina welcomed 12,937 fans combined for its first three matches of the season (4,312 avg. attendance) at Stone Stadium.

OVARIAN CANCER AWARENESS MONTH
The South Carolina men’s soccer team is supporting Ovarian Cancer Awareness all month long in September by wearing teal warmup jerseys for their matches. In addition to the teal warm up jerseys, the Gamecock coaching staff and support staff is wearing teal polo shirts. 
 
The team’s hope is to promote awareness for this cancer and encourage women to get regular checkups. Contact your local ovarian cancer support group for more information at 888-682-7426 or visit the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition’s website at http://www.ovarian.org. Remember, NO ONE FIGHTS ALONE! 

​​​​​UP NEXT
Carolina has no midweek game next week and returns home to host No. 7 Kentucky (6-0-1, 2-0-0 C-USA) on Saturday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. ET. The Gamecocks then hit the road again to take on No. 14 Virginia Tech (5-2-2, 0-2-1 ACC) on Tuesday, Oct. 2 in Blacksburg with coverage provided by the ACC Digital Network.