Carolina Takes On Defending National Champion Marshall
The Gamecocks face their second consecutive top-five opponent
COLUMBIA– The Gamecocks take on the defending national champion and No. 2 team in the country Marshall at 7 p.m. on Saturday night in Huntington, West Virginia.
Fans can stream the match on ESPN+ and live stats can be found here.
GAMECOCK NOTABLES
The Gamecocks last outing saw a 0-0 draw against No. 4 Kentucky. The Gamecock shutout was the highest-ranked draw since Oct. 18, 2006, when they tied with No. 1 SMU, 1-1.
Logan Frost and Mark Roby had looks at goal late, but were unable to put the ball in the back of the net.
The Gamecocks got off 16 shots, which tied their season high mark in shots.
Head coach Tony Annan said after the match that he was pleased with his team’s mentality and attitude against the Wildcats.
Carolina has a knack for earning corner kicks. The Gamecocks are 20th in the country with 6.43 corner kicks per match.
SCOUTING THE THUNDERING HERD
The Thundering Herd are on a 12-match unbeaten streak and have won six matches in a row.
Marshall is one of the best teams in the country on the defensive side. It has only allowed 0.738 goals per game, which is the 14th-best mark in the nation.
The Thundering Herd also excel on offense and are tied for 27th in the country in scoring offense with 2.14 goals per game.
Pedro Dolabella is one of the highest scoring players in the nation. He is tied for 25th in goals per game with 0.62 goals per game. He has scored eight times and has accumulated 21 points this season.
Vinicius Fernandes and Vitor Dias have five goals each this season.
Oliver Semmle should be in net for Marshall. He has racked up seven shutouts and has a 0.776 save percentage.
SERIES HISTORY
Series Record: Marshall leads 11-5-1
Last Meeting: 3/6/2021
Last South Carolina Win: 10/2/2016, 2-1
Last Marshall Win: 3/6/2021, 2-0
Last Tie: 10/19/2013, 1-1 (2OT)
QUOTABLES
Head Coach Tony Annan on …
… his thoughts and expectations heading into Saturday’s match:
“Obviously, they’re the national champions. They’re a very very good team. They have very good players. It’ll be a tough game. It’s probably the biggest test of our season.”
… who has been standing out in practices:
“Jared Gulden has stepped up and done exceptionally well. Logan Frost has done very well as well. Those two guys spring to mind as guys that have absorbed the information and taken it on board and have been able to put it together in games as well. I’m pleased with those two.”
… if there was more energy on offense and in transition against Kentucky:
“Yeah, I’d say that’s correct. They’re a very good team and very strong defensively. We were able to create chances on set pieces and even in the run of play we created some very good chances as well, so I was happy with that.”
