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The men's soccer team capped off their preseason Saturday night with a dominant performance that should boost the team's confidence heading into their season opener against Clemson.
Despite the fact that it was just an exhibition game, the fans came out in full force and were treated with an impressive victory over an N.C. State team that seemed overmatched.
The Gamecocks came out strong, scoring two goals in the first 15 minutes, which set the tone for the rest of the game.
David Smith sparked the onslaught with the first goal of the game. The goal came off a free kick just outside the 18-yard box five minutes in. After the goal, South Carolina never looked back.
The offensive attack was led by a two-goal performance from sophomore Sam Arthur as senior Kevan Hawkins supplied two assists on the night.
South Carolina allowed only one shot in the first half. The shot came from outside the box and ricocheted off the left post.
In the game, both South Carolina and N.C. State tallied seven shots, but the Wolfpack never challenged the goalkeepers as Jimmy Maurer and Sean Nguyen each made only one save to maintain the shutout.
"N.C. State is a good team, and they have a lot of talent," USC Coach Mark Berson said. "This is still the preseason, but it's nice to have two shutouts over two quality teams."
The men's soccer team has the 14th ranked recruiting class in the nation, and Berson expects them to have an immediate impact in the upcoming season.
"I think the freshmen have done real well; it is a pretty steep learning curve. Luckily we have a good nucleus of returning players, so there is a much bigger base of understanding already."
Some of those freshmen made splashes in Saturday night's game. Freshman midfielder David MacVane recorded an assist, and redshirt freshman forward Ryan Kropp contributed to the pressure on N.C. State's defense by taking one shot on goal during the match.
South Carolina will have its first game of the season Friday as they host rival Clemson at Stone Stadium. The match is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Last year Clemson finished the season with a 7-11-1 record and were winless on the road, losing all six contests.
The Tigers are returning six starters from last year's roster, including Tommy Drake, who scored 13 points as a freshman.
"Clemson has a good team," said Berson. "Every year, it seems to be a down-to-the-wire situation, and I would be surprised if it was anything different. Our fans have traditionally come out with strong support and really make it a tough place to play."
In last year's match, Clemson drew an overwhelming crowd of more than 6,000 for the game, but they witnessed a bitter defeat as Carolina's freshman Blake Brettschneider tallied the game's lone goal with 1:27 left in the second overtime.
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