No. 24 South Carolina beat Winthrop 3-2 Thursday night in the team's second exhibition game. With one more preseason game left, the Gamecocks have momentum headed into the regular season. If this game was any indication, the Aug. 26 matchup with No. 3 Clemsonwill be a hard-fought one.
The game was slow-paced for much of the first half until Kevin Walker gave Luca Mayr, a freshman from Steyr, Austria, a pass up the middle about 15 yards out in the 13th minute. It took one hard shot fake for Mayr to get past Winthrop's goalkeeper Kenneth Perkinson and have an open net for the first goal of the night.
In the 26th minute, Koty Millard took the ball off a Walker deflection after slipping past the defense in the middle of the box. He then put the ball under Perkinson to make the score 2-0.
Danny Deakin had his penalty saved in the Eagle's GK after a foul was rewarded in the box to senior Ive Burnett. He then caught his rebound and shot again, but Perkinson made an exceptional save to knock the ball out of the box and keep the score 2-0.
A foul was awarded to the Gamecocks just outside Winthrop's box — ideal for a free kick shot. Deakin stepped up and perfectly placed a shot in the top left corner of the net for the third goal of the night.
Winthrop didn't walk away scoreless though. With 19 minutes left, Rasmus Arousell strung together some nifty footwork and scored past goalkeeper William Pyle, making the game 3-1. A miscue by third choice goalie Jeffrey Lu saw the Eagles score a second and final goal of the game with under four minutes left.
Crafty play gives the Gamecocks the advantage
On both of South Carolina's first half goals, the plays leading up to the goals included skill. Teams can get into a rhythm of over-the-top play — launching balls deep in hopes that a defender will miss their play or the teammate will outrun the defense to the ball — but the Gamecocks used footwork, communication and crafty passing to set up goal scoring opportunities. On the penalty kick, Burnett dribbled past one player, then suckered a defender into taking out his legs for the penalty. It was as if he was patiently waiting for someone to make contact with him to draw a foul. If South Carolina wants to win games against some of the more talented teams, they will have to outsmart their opponents.
Defense held strong
The back line for the Gamecocks played unified. Chatter from the goalies kept the players moving, and when the Eagles threatened, the defense communicated with one another to assign positioning. The few times Winthrop made it into South Carolina's box, the offenders were extinguished by a couple of Gamecocks. While Winthrop doesn't boast a high-powered offense, South Carolina's defense looked fortified (minus the one time Arousell made some moves), which certainly bodes well for coach Mark Berson's team.
The Gamecocks run deep
With the second half came many lineup changes for the Gamecocks. Berson used almost every player he had, and the subs played with the same intensity as the starters. However, with the different lineups came some challenges, especially on the defensive side. Berson knows the importance for bench players to come in and produce.
"When we made some changes, it fell off a little bit," he said. "That's disappointing, but that's something that's easily correctable. I think those guys that came in at that point are still good players ... Our focus wasn't good at that point, and we need to learn from that."
With the inevitable injury, it is always good to know that the team has a deep bench.
The final exhibition game for the Gamecocks is Sunday versus College of Charleston.