Banahan And Mitchell-Smith Lead Gamecocks To Victory
Carolina scores four goals to remain undefeated at Stone Stadium
COLUMBIA, S.C. —- South Carolina men’s soccer responded to Presbyterian’s second-half push with two goals late in the match to earn a 4-2 victory over the Blue Hose on Tuesday at Stone Stadium. CJ Mitchell-Smith’s second goal of the season, and contest, at the 62-minute mark and later Brian Banahan’s second finish of the night pushed the Gamecocks to a win to snap a two-match losing streak.
Mitchell-Smith and Banahan combined to push across all four Carolina goals on the night with the help of assists from Tucker Monheimer, Luca Mayr, Logan Frost and Buenyamin Yusufoglu.
With the win, the Gamecocks improved to 5-4 overall while the Blue Hose dropped to 2-8. Carolina is now 5-0 at home this season while outscoring teams 11-3 in the matches.
“Our guys play for their teammates,” head coach Mark Berson said. “They play for their classmates, they play for their fans and they play for the University of South Carolina. They take great pride in playing at home. It’s a huge point of pride for us and obviously we’re more comfortable at home as a young team. It’s a great win for us.”
The Gamecocks came out with energy and creativity as Banahan’s early finish at the 11-minute mark thanks to Monheimer’s first assist gave the home team a quick 1-0 lead. The advantage was later extended to 2-0 at the 38-minute mark off Mitchell-Smith’s first goal as a Gamecock.
Presbyterian showed grit, though, as the Blue Hose responded with two goals just two minutes removed from each other four minutes into the second half to tie the contest at 2-2 before Mitchell-Smith and Banahan closed the contest with two finishes of their own. The four goals mark a season high for the Gamecocks in regular season action.
On the night, Carolina out shot the Blue Hose 21-19 and had seven corner opportunities.
Once again, fans can get the best deal in town for season tickets. Tickets are $25 for adults and $10 for youth and get you into ALL 20 soccer matches at Stone Stadium this fall. To purchase, visit gamecocksonline.com/soccertix.
For more information on the Gamecocks, continue to check back with gamecocksonline.com. Subscribe to South Carolina on Stanza to get schedule updates directly in your calendars.
SCORING SUMMARY
Brian Banahan, Carolina (11′)
CJ Mitchell-Smith, Carolina (38′)
Luca Ziegler, Presbyterian (49′)
Harry Abell, Presbyterian (52′)
CJ Mitchell-Smith, Carolina (63′)
Brian Banahan, Carolina (89′)
ASSIST SUMMARY
Tucker Monheimer, Caroina (11′)
Luca Mayr, Carolina (38′)
Logan Frost, Carolina (38′)
Buenyamin Yusufoglu, Carolina (89′)
CARD SUMMARY
Mark Roby, Carolina (50′) – Yellow
