Gamecocks Set To Host FIU On Senior Night

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- South Carolina men’s soccer returns home for the final time in the regular season as it plays host to No. 13 FIU on Friday night at Stone Stadium. Gates open one hour prior to the 7:00 PM ET kickoff.
 
Game day parking is available for fans in the Heyward Street Garage located at 1300 Heyward Street. Parking is free of charge in this location and is available on all levels on a first-come, first-served basis. Handicap parking is also located at designated spaces within the Heyward Street Garage. An elevator is located within the garage for fans who will need to access the elevator to get to the ground level. 
 
There are two entry gates for fans to enter Stone Stadium, located at Whaley Street and Heyward Street.
 
Fans are encouraged to arrive early and stay in their seats at halftime. Carolina will honor its six seniors in a ceremony prior to the match before retiring the jersey of former standout Clint Mathis at halftime. Former players from across the program’s 41 years of soccer will be recognized at halftime, as well.

South Carolina will look to carry over the positives taken from a pivotal 2-1 victory over FAU last Sunday night in which Andrew Halloran sent home his first goal of the year for the game winner.

Carolina has faced one of the tougher schedules in the country up to this point. Including exhibition matches, the Gamecocks have faced six teams who were receiving top-25 votes or were ranked at the time of their match (Duke, Clemson, UCF, Charlotte, NC State and Kentucky) and are set to face another one (FIU) before the end of the regular season.
 
As of the latest polls, South Carolina has played a top-five team (No. 3 Clemson) and five top-17 opponents (No. 3 Clemson, No. 8 UCF, No. 15 Marshall, No. 17 Charlotte and No. 16 Kentucky).
 
Head coach Mark Berson enters his 42nd season as head coach for Carolina. He’s been the only coach for the program since its first season in 1978. He is the active wins leader in NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer with 513 career victories and is one of just four coaches all-time to hit the 500-win plateau. 
 
WATCH

• Fans can watch all South Carolina home matches through gamecocksonline.com. Watch links can at the top of the story and on the men’s soccer portion of the website under “live streaming.” 

FIU SERIES NOTES

• Carolina leads the all-time series 14-1-5 in a set that dates back to 1987.
• The Gamecocks have outscored the Panthers 42-20 all-time.
• South Carolina is 7-1-2 all-time in Columbia.
• FIU’s lone win came in 2017 with a 5-2 victory.
• Carolina is 3-1-1 in its last five matches in the series.

FIU SCOUT

• FIU comes in with a 9-0-5 record, including a 4-0-3 mark on the road.
• The Panthers last lost came on Nov. 7 of 2018 at the hands of Marshall in the C-USA Tournament.  
• Florida International is 2-0-2 in its past four matches.
• Head coach Kevin Nylen is in his third year leading the Panthers.
• FIU’s last win came on Oct. 13 at Kentucky.

PLAYING AT HOME AS BEEN SWEET

• Carolina is an impressive 6-2-2 at home this season with three overtime victories.
• The Gamecocks have a 17-10 advantage in goals.
• Brian Banahan and Tucker Monheimer each have a team-best 12 points at home this year with four goals for each.
• CJ Mitchell-Smith has played well at home, too, with three goals so far while Luca Mayr has sent two home, as well.
• Thus far more than 18,000 fans have attended matches at Stone Stadium. That’s seventh best in the nation as of last Monday.

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.