No. 11 Gamecocks Play to Draw at No. 16 West Virginia

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. – The 11th ranked South Carolina men’s soccer team (7-1-2, 1-0-2) picked up a point in the Sun Belt standings Saturday night (Oct. 3), as the Gamecocks played to a 1-1 draw at No. 16 West Virginia (5-1-3, 1-0-2).

The Mountaineers scored only their second first half goal of the season to take the early lead in the 12th minute. That would be the only shot South Carolina allowed in the first half, as the Gamecocks led in first half shots despite trailing 1-0 at the break.

Carolina broke through in the 71st minute. Gabriel Nickerson played a ball out wide left in the 18-yard box to Loïc Sany Kong. He dribbled around a defender and made a quick pass to Alejandro Velazquez-Lopez setup in the middle of the 6-yard box. He deflected the pass off his right foot and into the bottom right corner of the net. It was Velazquez-Lopez’s fifth goal of the season, moving him into a tie for the team lead with Sany Kong. It was Sany Kong’s second assist of the year.

Both teams had a chance in the second half. WVU was originally awarded a penalty kick in the 73rd minute that was overturned on video review. The Gamecocks looked to have scored the game-winner in the 84th minute by Cristian Ortiz, but the goal was waved off after another VAR.

For the match, the Mountaineers led 8-6 in shots and 4-3 in shots on goal, while the Gamecocks led 6-2 in corner kicks. Carolina goalkeeper Noah Scheidweiler finished the night with three saves.

South Carolina returns to Stone Stadium October 10 to host Kentucky at 7 p.m.