GAMECOCKS LATE RALLY FALLS SHY AT MARSHALL
A late second half
comeback fell just shy on Saturday afternoon, as South Carolina (3-3-0,
0-2-0 C-USA) was defeated 2-1 by Marshall (5-2-0, 1-1-0 C-USA) at
Veterans Memorial Soccer Complex. Team captain Peyton Ericson headed
the game-tying shot on goal with 12 seconds left in regulation, but it
was saved by the Thundering Herd’s Nate Himes. Carolina
had a solid chance early in the match around the 10 minute mark as
Himes came off his line and passed it right to Trygve Ellingstad near
midfield. Ellingstad floated a shot wide left at the open net.
Marshall
had a 1v1 opportunity in the 19th minute, but junior Andre Streete was
able to clear the ball after some stellar on-ball defending. The
Thundering Herd were able to keep the ball in Carolina’s defensive half
a majority of the next 15 minutes, but the Gamecock defense held firm
on every ball played into the box by the opposition.
Carolina
had a great opportunity late in the first half as Spencer Meschter got
loose down the sideline in transition, but the senior misfired his pass
to an open Tucker Monheimer. C-USA points leader Lewis Knight fired a
shot on goal near post in the 42nd minute but William Pyle made a great
stop to keep the match scoreless at halftime. Marshall held a 5-1 edge
in shots and a 2-0 advantage in corners after the first 45 minutes.
The
Thundering Herd took the lead early in the second half scoring in the
48th minute. Knight split the defense on the near sideline and let
loose a shot far post past Pyle for his seventh goal of the season. The
Gamecocks had a great chance in the 59th minute after Mitchell Myers
beat his defender just past midfield. The opportunity setup consecutive
corner kicks for Carolina that came up empty.
Shortly after,
Marshall used another transition counter attack on the near sideline to
go ahead 2-0 in the 65th minute. From there the Gamecock offense would
put the pressure on the home team the rest of the match. Freshman
Benjamin Gilligan came on in the 77th minute and scored three minutes
after coming on the pitch to pull Carolina within one. He rattled one
home off a deflection to narrow the gap.
The Gamecocks nearly
tied the match in the 82nd minute on a free kick from just inside
midfield by Aleksander Bjerke Christensson. Meschter got a head on it
towards the net with Gilligan flying in from the outside. Himes came
off his spot to snare the ball just before Gilligan could get there as
the two nearly collided. Carolina’s best chance to send it to overtime
would come on Ericson’s header in the final seconds of regulation.
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