No. 13 Gamecocks Earn Top-25 Road Win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The 13th ranked South Carolina men’s soccer team (4-0) earned a top-25 road win Thursday night (Sept. 3), as the Gamecocks took down No. 25 Charlotte (1-1-2) 2-1.

The victory moves the Gamecocks to 4-0 to start the season for the first time since 2004.

South Carolina got off to a fast start when Yvan Malarte put home a header off a free kick opportunity 1:05 into the match. It was the fastest Carolina goal since at least 2005. Iasiah Whittaker-Francis played the free kick over to Mika Habel, who quickly sent it into the 6-yard box. Malarte headed it home just inside the left post for his second goal of the season. The 49ers tied it in the 24th minute on a shot from beyond the 18-yard box.

Carolina took the lead in the 37th minute when Gabriel Nickerson scored his first of the season. Noah Scheidweiler sent his goal kick down the field where Cristian Ortiz deflected it to Nickerson. He sprinted past the backline and went one-on-one with a defender and beat the goalie to the right post.

Just before halftime, Scheidweiler made a key save and Omar Robana blocked the rebound to keep the Gamecocks in front 2-1.

Scheidweiler came up big several times in the second half. None were bigger than with just under three minutes to go when he was able to fall to his knees and make the final save of the match. Scheidweiler finished with a season-high five saves on the night.

Overall, Charlotte held a 14-8 advantage in shots, 5 -3 in shots on goal, and 6-3 in corner kicks.

The back-to-back victories over ranked opponents is the first for Carolina since defeating No. 13 Old Dominion and No. 11 Coastal Carolina in 2015.

The Gamecocks return home to Stone Stadium September 7 to host No.14 High Point at 7 p.m.