Carolina Fights Back To Earn Draw Against Georgia Southern
Gamecocks tie match with less than a minute remaining
COLUMBIA, S.C —- South Carolina men’s soccer faced a deficit with less than a minute remaining but found the back of the net to earn a hard-fought 1-1 draw against Georgia Southern on Tuesday night at Stone Stadium. Luca Mayr sent a beautiful cross to CJ Mitchell-Smith who finished a goal with just 20 seconds left in the match to earn Carolina’s first draw of the season.
With the result, both teams moved to 5-5-1 on the season.
“Offensively the performance was much, much better tonight,” head coach Mark Berson said. “Their goal keeper made three of the best saves I’ve seen this season to deny us. I especially thought with less than a minute left to score was a real testimony to the grit and toughness of these guys. It’s tough to give up a goal like we did and come back and battle the whole game. The guys did a great job and I was really proud of them.”
Georgia Southern got on the board first as an errant pass from Carolina bounced off the back of the head of an Eagle defender and found its way into the net to put Georgia Southern on top, 1-0, at the 13-minute mark.
From there, it looked as though the Eagles might escape with a victory thanks to the wildly unfortunate goal but the Mitchell-Smith finish late in the match sealed the 1-1 tie. Both teams combined for just five shots in the two overtime periods on their way to the tie.
The tie marks Carolina’s first draw since a 1-1 match in double overtime against Charlotte in 2017. It’s the first tie at home since Aug. 20 of that year with a 2-2 match against College of Charleston.
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.
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SCORING SUMMARY
Adam Davie, Georgia Southern (13′)
CJ Mitchell-Smith, Carolina (89:40)
ASSIST SUMMARY
Luca Mayr, Carolina (89:40)
