Gamecocks Say Farewell To Legend Mark Berson
COLUMBIA, S.C. —- South Carolina men’s soccer dropped a heart-breaking 2-1 match to Kentucky in head coach Mark Berson’s final game on Saturday at Stone Stadium. More than 65 former players returned to Columbia on Saturday with their families to help congratulate Berson, the program’s first and only coach, after 43 years in charge of the program.
The Gamecocks honored their four seniors (Kyle Gurrieri, Nick Brady, Justin Bauer, and Jared Gulden) pregame before saying farewell to Berson after the game.
The winningest active coach in the country, Berson led the Gamecocks to 22 NCAA Tournaments and 35 winning seasons. A University of North Carolina alumnus, he came to Columbia to start the program in the spring of 1978 and opened the program with a 13-3-1 mark. A year later, the Gamecocks posted a 14-5-0 record on their way to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history.
While in Columbia, Berson has coached 13 All-Americans and 15 Freshman All-Americans. Since 2005, Berson’s student-athletes have garnered 79 All-Region honors and 59 All-Conference USA honors.
The Gamecocks also excelled in the classroom with 31 Academic All-American selections. Berson’s teams have twice posted the highest GPA in that nation (2010 and 2013) and have earned 12 NSCAA Academic Team Awards (1999, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2016). Since joining C-USA in 2005, Carolina has had the highest GPA in the league six times (2008-09, 09-10, 11-12, 12-13,16-17 and 17-18).
A highly respected individual throughout the soccer community, Berson received two major honors in 2015. The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) presented him with the Bill Jeffrey Award, given to an individual for outstanding service or achievement in college soccer, at its annual convention in January. In the fall, Berson was inducted into South Carolina Lettermen’s Association Hall of Fame, where he joined six of his former players.
Berson accumulated 522 wins in his career, 511 of which came at South Carolina.
