Gamecocks look to maintain momentum from Friday's OT win
The last time the South Carolina men's soccer team took to the pitch, the Gamecocks scored four unanswered goals at Florida Atlantic to earn a 4-3 overtime win.
"Four unanswered goals are outstanding, especially on the road in conference play," head coach Mark Berson told GamecocksOnline.com. "This group never quit. They fought to the end, and I'm tremendously proud of them. I'm not sure how many Houdini acts we can pull off this year, but [Friday] we did."
And if there was ever a time for South Carolina to gain some momentum, it's now.
The Gamecocks open their final home stand of the season Tuesday when they host North Carolina State in their last nonconference game of the season.
The meeting with the Wolfpack offers South Carolina a chance to put together a winning streak for the first time since it rattled off three consecutive victories to start the season. Since then, the Gamecocks have lost three straight then rotated wins and losses the rest of the way.
NC State is struggling to stay afloat in the ACC, currently sitting at fifth out of six teams in the conference's Atlantic Division.
The Wolfpack's last win came on Oct. 7 in a 5-2 blowout of Gardner-Webb. Since then, it has tied with Boston College and lost a 1-0 decision to in-state rival North Carolina.
Though NC State isn't exactly surging coming into its trip to Columbia, the Wolfpack tends to find a way to attack the goal. South Carolina's opponent Tuesday has tallied the fourth-most shots in the ACC this season with 196. That averages out to 15.62 shots per game.
Tuesday's result won't impact the Gamecocks' place in Conference-USA, because only in-conference games are considered in the standings.
But a lapse in form at this point in the year is something South Carolina can't afford, as they occupy sixth place in C-USA, and only six teams make the conference tournament at the end of the season.
The Gamecocks are set to kick-off with the Wolfpack at 7 p.m. Tuesday night at Stone Stadium.