Gamecocks take home United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards
Carolina one of 191 schools to have its men's and women's teams honored
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — South Carolina men’s and women’s soccer were each awarded United Soccer Coaches Team Academic Awards for the 2017-18 academic year, the organization announced on Thursday. Teams must have a GPA of 3.0 or higher to be eligible for the award.
A total of 773 college teams (289 men, 484 women) earned the Team Academic Award. Carolina was one of 191 schools that had both its men’s and women’s programs among the recipients.
Mark Berson’s men’s team has earned the award on 13 occasions, twice recording the highest GPA in the country (2010-11, 2013-14). The Gamecocks’ GPA of 3.395 this past year was the highest in Conference USA for the second-consecutive season.
Shelley Smith’s women’s team has taken the honor now 16 times in program history, including each of the last 11 seasons.
The No. 12 Gamecock women’s soccer team (9-2-0, 3-1-0 SEC) is on the road tonight to take on Georgia, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. ET on SECN+. South Carolina will return home to take on Florida on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on the SEC Network in a rematch of the 2017 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals.
The men’s team (3-6-0, 0-3-0 C-USA) also plays on Sunday at Stone Stadium vs. Charlotte (5-2-1, 1-2-0 C-USA) at 8 p.m. ET. The Gamecocks are fresh off a 2-1 double overtime victory at No. 19 Virginia Tech. Junior Luca Mayr scored the game-winning goal from 30-yards out with 19.4 seconds left in the 110th minute.
