Gamecocks Face Mountaineers for Spot in Sun Belt Tournament Final

Taking the Pitch

• This will be the 4th meeting between the Gamecocks and Mountaineers.
• The two teams earned a 0-0 draw during a rain soaked match last season at West Virginia.
• The Mountaineers earned a 3-2 win earlier this season in Columbia.
  • WVU went up 2-0, but the Gamecocks scored two goals two minutes apart to tie the match.
• The Gamecocks won the first meeting 2-1 in overtime in Columbia on Sept. 5, 1982.

Quick Notes

• South Carolina leads the nation in both cumulative and average attendance (4,306)
• Carolina has hosted three of the top seven highest attended on-campus NCAA men’s soccer home matches this season (#5 – Old Dominion, #6 – Jacksonville, #7 – UNCW).
  • They also claim nine of the top 21 spots in highest attended home matches (#10 – Georgia State, #12 – USC Upstate, #13 – Queens, #14 – West Virginia, #20 – UCF, #21 – Coastal Carolina), along with their road match at Clemson ranking as #11.
  • Only Clemson, Creighton and North Carolina have two matches in the top-20.
• South Carolina is the only program in the nation to have all of its home matches (10) rank in the top-50 for attendance.
• Carolina defeated No. 1 ranked UCF 2-1 in the Sun Belt Tournament quarterfinals.
  • It was their first win of a No. 1 ranked team in program history (0-4-1, previously).
• Jordan Illian scored the game-winner with 33 seconds left vs Coastal Carolina.
  • Illian notched a brace, making him the first freshman to score two goals in a match since Mike Lindsay against Kentucky on Nov. 9, 2007.
  • He also added an assist for a five-point night, becoming the first Carolina player with at least five points since Jeffrey Torda at UAB on Nov. 3, 2013.
• Jack Burgess scored his first goal as a Gamecock against UCF (10/22)
• Jordan Illian scored his first collegiate goal against Georgia Southern (10/18).
• Ethan Dekel Daks’ goal vs Old Dominion with five seconds left was the latest goal in regulation since Tucker Monheimer with one second left vs Jacksonville on 10/23/2019.
• For his efforts, Dekel Daks was named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week.
• The Gamecocks held Georgia State to one shot on goal. It was the first time since 2014 (also against GSU), that they’ve held a team to 1 SOG or less.
• South Carolina defeated No. 24 Kentucky for the first time since 2016 and the first time in Lexington since 2012.
  • It was their first win over a ranked opponent since 2019.
• Ben Alexander was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Week.
  • He was the first Gamecock to win a Sun Belt POW award and the first defensive player to earn any POW honor since 2017.
• The Gamecocks tallied four goals in the match against Queens, their first four-goal match since scoring four against Winthrop on Sept. 9, 2022.
• Carolina also earned five assists in the match, the first time they finished with five in a match since Sept. 5, 2006, against Centenary.
• This is the 45th season of South Carolina men’s soccer.
• The Gamecocks have an all-time record of 527-286-85.
• South Carolina finished the regular season last year leading the nation in average attendance with 2,839 fans per game.
• The Gamecocks begin their second season in the Sun Belt Conference.
• Carolina was picked to finish fifth in the conference by the coaches.
• Peter Clement and Adam Luckhurst will serve as team captains for the season.
• The roster features 10 newcomers; five transfers and five true freshmen.
• They return eight starters from a season ago, including four starters in the defensive end.

For the latest on men’s soccer, visit GamecocksOnline.com or follow the team’s social media accounts on Twitter @GamecockMSoccer, Facebook /GamecockMSoccer, and Instagram @GamecockMSoccer.