Gamecocks Ready To Hit The Road For First Time In 2020

COLUMBIA, S.C. —- South Carolina men’s soccer will look to bounce back Friday night when it travels to Macon, Ga., to face Mercer. Kick is set for 6:00 PM ET and will be streamed through ESPN+. The match, originally scheduled for Saturday, was moved up a day to avoid anticipated weather in the Macon area.
 
Fans can follow along with live stats on gamecocksonline.com.
 
This will be South Carolina’s first regular season match in the state of Georgia in 33 years and just the third in its 43 years of action. Carolina is 1-1 in the Peach State. The Gamecocks come into the match looking to snap a two-game losing streak in 2020 and a six-match losing streak in road contests.
 
South Carolina is familiar with Mercer, having faced the Bears four times since 2016. Carolina leads the all-time series 11-1-0 and has outscored Mercer 34-9 in those 12 matches.
 
After opening the 2020 Gamecocks Athletics fall schedule with a 2-0 victory over Georgia Southern on Sept. 19, Carolina fell to Georgia State on Sept. 24 in a 3-1 loss before dropping a 3-0 contest to Clemson on Oct. 1. Senior captain Kyle Gurrieri scored his first Carolina goal in the Georgia State result.
 
Carolina has had 21 of its 28 players see action through three games, including nine newcomers and all three keepers. Through those matches, Sekou Soumah has led the Gamecock with 270 minutes played. Logan Hitzeman is next with 247 minutes with Gurrieri right behind with 242 minutes.
 
With a win Friday, head coach Mark Berson would move into a tie for the third-most victories in men’s soccer history. He currently sits in fourth with 515.
 
WATCH

• Fans can watch Friday’s match on ESPN+. The direct link can be found at the top of this story and on the men’s soccer schedule page.

 
CAROLINA NOTES

• Carolina has had 21 of its 28 players see action through three games, including nine newcomers and all three keepers.
• Through three matches, Sekou Soumah has led the Gamecock with 270 minutes played. Logan Hitzeman is next with 247 minutes with Kyle Gurrieri right behind with 242 minutes.
• Gurrieri, a senior captain, scored his first career goal in the Georgia State loss on Sept. 24.
• Justin Bauer, a captain, earned the win between the posts on opening night. 
• Through three matches, Brian Banahan leads the Gamecocks in points (9) and assists (1) while heís tied for the most goals (1) with Gurrieri and Logan Frost. Frost and Banahan are tied for the most shots (9) and shots on goal (4).

 
MERCER SCOUT

• Mercer comes into the match with a 1-2 record on the season with two losses to Georgia State and a win over Georgia Southern.
• As a team, the Bears are outshooting their opponents 49-30.
• Mercer has six assists through three matches.
• Trevor Martineau has led the way with two goals.
• Two Bears, Joshua Harrison and Bryant Jackson, lead the way with 270 minutes of action.

 
SERIES NOTES

• This will be the 13th meeting between the two teams and the first time the two programs have met outside of Columbia.
• South Carolina earned a clean sheet in 2019 against the Bears. Carolina has done so six times, including the first three matches in the series.
• The two teams first met in 1983 as the Gamecocks outscored Mercer 19-0 in the first three matches between the teams.
• This will be South Carolina’s first trip to the Peach State since 1987 (33 years ago) when it defeated Georgia State, 4-0, on Sept. 27 of that year. SC is 1-1 all-time in GA.
• Carolina has outscored Mercer 34-9 all-time.