Soccer
MSOC: The South Carolina
men's and women's soccer teams will host a conference doubleheader at
Stone Stadium on Friday night, with the women hosting SEC opponent
Kentucky at 6 p.m., before the men's team hosts Conference USA opponent
Tulsa at 8:30 p.m.
Carolina Quick Hits - South Carolina is in its 34th season of varsity soccer in 2011. -
The Gamecocks are led by head coach Mark Berson in his 34th season at
the helm of the program. He is assisted by Bert Molinary in his eighth
season and Mike Babst in his fifth. - Berson, in his 35th season
overall coaching (spent one season as the head coach at The Citadel),
entered the 2011 season ranked as the winningest active coach in
Division I men's soccer with 441 career wins. - Friday's match for
Carolina is just its second in the last 12 days, as its Sept. 23, match
vs. Wake Forest was cancelled due to inclement weather. - Carolina has won two-straight matches entering Friday's contest vs. Tulsa (wins vs. High Point, at Memphis). -
Three C-USA teams have yet to play a conference contest, however, South
Carolina, Marshall and UCF currently sit atop the leader board with
three points each. - South Carolina opened Conference USA play with
a thrilling 3-2 comeback win at Memphis last Saturday. The Gamecocks
scored three goals in a 14-minute span for the victory. - Sophomore
forward Bradlee Baladez, freshman midfielder Braeden Troyer and
sophomore midfielder Chipper Root scored for Carolina vs. Memphis, with
Root collecting the first game winner of his career. - South
Carolina is led offensively by senior midfielder Stephen Morrissey and
freshman midfielder Braeden Troyer with three goals on the year.
Defenders Trevor Hubbard and Mike Mangotic pace the sqaud with two
assists each. - Friday's match vs. Tulsa is South Carolina's first
vs. the Golden Hurricane since earning a 1-0 win in overtime to collect
last season's Conference USA Tournament title. - Twice this season South Carolina has come back from a deficit at halftime to win the contest (vs. High Point, Memphis).
Scouting Tulsa -
The Golden Hurricane enters Friday's match with a 4-4-0 overall record
on the year, having most recently suffered a 3-0 loss to fourth-ranked
Akron last Saturday. Friday will serve as Tulsa's C-USA opener for
2011. Sophomore midfielder Omar Mata is leading the way for the team
with three goals and three assists for nine points on the season.
Freshman midfielder Stephen Roberson has two goals and an assist, while
senior defender Blaine Gonsalves has two goals as well. Goalkeeper
Michael Murray has played the majority of time in net for the team. He
enters the match against the Gamecocks with a 1.24 goals against
average and 20 saves on the year. Senior defender Justin Chaves was
named the C-USA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year, while he was
also named to the Hermann Trophy Watch List, and was a College Soccer
News and Soccer America Preseason All-American.
Series History -
The series between South Carolina and Tulsa is tied at 4-4-2, however,
the Gamecocks have won two-straight entering Friday's match. South
Carolina earned a 1-0 upset win at then-No. 5 Tulsa during the 2010
regular season, before collecting a 1-0 overtime win over the Golden
Hurricane in the Conference USA Tournament final. The series is also
tied at 1-1-1 in games played at Stone Stadium. The 2009 contest
between the two schools in Columbia eneded in a 1-1 double overtime tie.
Last Year vs. Tulsa -
Then-senior defender Will Traynor's goal in the 68th minute gave South
Carolina a 1-0 win over then-No. 5 Tulsa in the 2010 regular season.
But the most thrilling match of the season came just over one month
later when the Gamecocks earned a 1-0 overtime win over Tulsa to
capture the 2010 Conference USA Tournament title. Then-junior
midfielder Stephen Morrissey scored the game winner for Carolina on a
penalty kick in the 107th minute, while senior goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer
collected his eighth shutout of the season in the win. The win over
Tulsa gave the Gamecocks an automatic bid to the 2010 NCAA Tournament.
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